


Revenge is Sweet in the Eyes of the Fallen

by UnidentifiedFlyingObject



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Dib is So Done (Invader Zim), Dib tries to help, Revenge!Zim, There might be some mistakes, Zim is an unstable angry boi, i wrote most of this on my phone, slight mention of suicide and self harm, so does Skoodge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 53,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24099466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnidentifiedFlyingObject/pseuds/UnidentifiedFlyingObject
Summary: Zim is finally told that his mission has been nothing but a huge lie, and now he's determined to take revenge into his own hands. But little did he know that he was bringing along a certain scythe-haired boy along for the ride.
Relationships: Zadr if you squint - Relationship
Comments: 7
Kudos: 70





	1. Shattered Dreams and Unlikely Bonds

The skool bell rang with a shriek, making Zim's antennae twitch under his wig. Just one class left, then he could go home. However, he had debated skipping altogether. His last class contained the Dib-beast, and ever since Zim's latest plan of mind controlling the human to release large deadly snakes into residential areas, the pair had been on significantly worse terms than what was considered the usual. Evidently, the Dib didn't take too kindly to mind control, said it was "crossing a line". It was one of the great many things that Zim never understood about him.

Zim plopped down in his seat, the old chair creaking in protest to such aggressive sitting. He pulled out a pen to fidget with and preceded to tune out whatever lecture was being given. The only thing that kept bringing his mind back to the classroom was the piercing eyes of his nemesis burning on the back of his head. Zim didn't dare to turn around and entertain the Dib. Before he knew it, the skool bell rang again, and Zim sat up. He glanced down at his empty worksheet before shoving it into his backpack and standing to leave.

As Zim was making his way down the steps in front of the skool, Dib slid down the bannister and hopped off in front of him. Zim could only roll his eyes and groan.

"Zim does not wish to partake in any sort of sparring today, Dib-worm. I have much work to do." He said as he tried to push past Dib, but the human was persistent as always. 

"What, you're planning to mind control more people to do your dirty work?"

Zim groaned again as he continued walking. "Oh come on, you're still mad about that? It's really not that big a deal."

"Um, hold on. WHAT?! You don't think mind control is a 'big deal'?". Dib put his hand on his enemy's backpack and pulled to stop him.

"No, Dib, I don't. And I still don't see how you do."

"It's a HUGE invasion of privacy! I could have died."

"And the world would have been none the wiser. What do you want me to say, human? I'm not apologizing for doing my job. You think I care about your privacy? We spend most of our time in each other's business anyway."

"This is different! You were in my head!"

"Yes, and such a gargantuan head it was, almost broke the machine. Dib, I've been in your brain before, it's not that impressive."

"No, having a microscopic exosuit doesn't count."

Zim threw his hands up, getting more irritated by the human's indecisiveness. "WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?! I'm still controlling you no matter what! Holy IRK, human, make up your mind!" Zim shoved past Dib again, determined to keep walking. Dib padded angrily after him, ranting as the pair made their way back to their neighborhood.

It was a miracle that Zim didn't punch Dib's lights out as they reached Zim's base. The alien had had enough of Dib's incessant speech, and slammed his door. With a loud growl, he threw his backpack as hard as he could. The bag landed in the center of the kitchen, papers flying. Zim wasn't even aware the bag was open. The sight of the mess only fueled his anger, and he briefly entertained the thought of setting the base on fire. Flames always seemed to have a way to calm Zim's nerves. Instead, he settled on kicking over the closest end table by the front door, knocking the phone off and smashing on the floor.

"GIR!"

The little robot was at his feet in an instant, eyes blaring red and ready to listen to any further instruction.

"Clean this mess up, then meet me in the lab. I have something I need you to do." Zim started his walk to the kitchen.

"Okie dokie!" GIR screeched, his eyes now their normal blue as he began to pick up the papers and pieces of phone.

-X-

The elevator hummed softly as it descended to the laboratory. Zim could feel his fingers and antennae twitch with anticipation. He had a super special plan to execute. It almost made the spat with Dib all the way home worth it. He'd have to hold off, though, just for a little bit. Just until he was able to inform his mighty Tallest of his plans. He was sure that they were going to be impressed by it this time. It was almost a guarantee. No, it WAS a guarantee! Zim burst through the elevator doors as soon as he was able and made a beeline to the console connected to his monitor. After a few presses of muscle-memorized buttons, the call was put through to the massive. Zim wrung his hands impatiently as he waited for the call to be accepted.

When the screen finally flickered and lit up with the video image of the Tallest, Zim popped into a salute immediately and repeated his usual greeting.

"My Tallest! Invader Zim reporting in!"

Tallest Purple was busy munching on his third package of vort-dog flavored cheez-o's, so Tallest Red was the one to address the tiny irken with a sigh.

"What do you want, Zim?"

"My Tallest! I have for you a plan of such pure irken evil, you'd have to be a fool to not hear it!"

Red's eye twitched at the implication, but he brushed it off by waving his hand.

"Whatever, let's just get this over with. What ingenious plan could you possibly have this time?"

Zim bounced on his heels with excitement. Not very professional, but he just couldn't help himself. He cleared his throat.

"My Tallest. I have devised a plan that will ensure the destruction of this miserable dookie-filled rock." Zim made fists for emphasis. "It will make the humans quake with fear as their planet falls into the dark, cold, unforgiving depths of space!" Zim glanced at the screen to see that he was beginning to lose his audience's interest. So he continued. "I will start by constructing a laser cannon large and powerful enough to blow up the earth's star. From there, the radius of the blast will slowly begin to roast the planet's disgusting inhabitants alive, not to mention cripple their solar system as they know it. 

"At first, they won't know what even hit them. BUT, being as it takes approximately eight minutes for light from the star to reach the earth, it will give ME ample time to escape the atmosphere before all life is wiped out completely!"

Red hummed and nodded. He exchanged annoyed glances with Purple before turning back to the screen.

"That's not a bad plan, Zim. Probably the best you've ever had. Congratulations."

Zim felt his chest swell with pride. He tried his best to remain calm, putting his hands behind his back. 

"Thank you, my Tallest."

"But you're forgetting one, tiny little detail."

Zim frowned slightly. He was sure he'd thought everything through. But he knew that the Tallest knew best.

"Oh? What's that?"

"This joke is old. We don't actually care about the earth. Never have."

Zim stood, flabbergasted, alternating looking at each of his tallest.

"You're confused. Allow me to explain. Listen, Zim. Let me put this in a way that I think you can understand." Red shifted to the edge of his seat to where he looked like he was giving a lecture to a two year old.

"We sent you on that 'mission' to get rid of you. You know why? Because you're a nuisance. You're an embarrassment to the irken race. Do you know how much damage you caused in operation impending doom one?"

"But I-"

Red held his hand up, effectively silencing the irken on screen.

"You've been labeled as a defective, Zim. You know that. You've known it for a while now. You can try to play it off and cover it up as much as you want, but we all know the truth. But now I think it's time you're refreshed on just exactly what that means." Red stood, narrowing his eyes into a nasty glare. 

"You were not invited to the great assigning for operation impending doom two because you were banished. We didn't want you here on Irk. We had no intention of having you involved. But, of course, you inserted yourself as you always do. We didn't even know that Earth was a planet until you started contacting us about it. We were trying to get rid of you, we hoped that you were going to die in your travels. We don't want Earth. We never wanted Earth. Your 'mission' was nothing more than a wild goose chase. You're going to die there, cold and alone, just like you were supposed to. Just know how much of a disappointment you are in our eyes, and that you're a failure of a soldier. Don't contact us again."

With that, the screen went black, and Zim stood there, trying to let the message sink in. His blood began to run cold, and his gaze dropped to the floor. His antennae pressed against his skull, and his eyes began to water. Of course Zim knew how defective he was. He never forgot that day of his existence evaluation. He never forgot that every single irken that he'd considered an ally left him. He never forgot the look of disgust they wore. Even Skooge. Though Skooge had eventually come to terms with his ally's deformity, Zim had the image of his friend turning his back deeply burned into his memory bank. Ever since then, he'd done his best to play it off. He tried to make it seem like everything was perfect. Like he was perfect. But the minds of irken soldiers are not so easily persuaded. 

Zim's attempts had been fruitless, and he knew it. And yet, he continued to play the fool. During operation impending doom one, during his exile to Foodcourtia, during the great assigning, and up until even now. Zim's time on Earth had left him somewhat fulfilled once he learned of the utter stupidity of the human race. It had finally made him feel superior. Yet, there was always that one person who saw through everything he did. The only person who kept him from feeling like a true irken soldier and completely forgetting about being defective.

Zim turned on his heels to see GIR standing behind him. He wore that same stupid smile on his face. It made Zim's blood boil.

"How much of that did you hear?" He asked through tightly clenched teeth.

"I SAW THE WHO~OLE THING!" GIR waved his arms in a dramatic fashion and stuck his tongue out.

At this point, Zim didn't have the emotional energy to be outright pissed, so he just growled and shoved GIR to the side as he stomped past. Zim leaned against the table with his blue prints displayed neatly before him. 

"The plan is still a go, GIR. I don't need the Tallests approval. If anything, I'm going to do this for myself." Zim realized how immature that sounded, but he shook his head clear of it. He turned to face GIR, who was still in the same spot. "However. We don't yet have the parts necessary to finish the construction of the cannon. We need certain metals that will be able to withstand the powerful laser. Unfortunately, irken metals aren't going to cut it. It will be a hard trip, but one we'll need to make." Zim went back up to the console and started pressing away at buttons until a planet showed up on screen. 

"Planet Zorg. A planet so rich with exotic metals, their own people might as well be made of the stuff. However, Zorgians are infamously known to be extremely stingy with their resources." Zim planted a tablet into the console and it began to download information on the planet. "It will be approximately a few weeks trip, so I need you to pack what will be necessary for the next few weeks. Can you handle that?"

"I ATE A TURKEY YESTERDAY!" GIR screeched.

"GIR! Pay attention! Can you handle that?" Zim snapped.

GIR saluted. "Yes! My master!"

"Good. Get to it, then." Zim turned back to the tablet as the robot screamed his way to the elevator.

Zim took the tablet out of the console and scrolled through the information before stowing it in his PAK, the tablet relaying the important information like the Zorg language to his database. Zim looked back up at the screen. There was a fire that started in Zim's spooch. He recognized the feeling as anger mixed with pure determination. And suddenly, he felt something click. Or like a light finally turned on upstairs. He was going to make the tallest understand that he was capable of being a successful invader. But, strangely enough, he wasn't going to do it for the tallest. Zim was on a personal mission. At the thought, his fire only grew in intensity, threatening to swallow him whole. And he'd be okay with it. This new fire was exciting and exhilarating. Then, in a brief moment, he realized exactly what he wanted. What he wanted was revenge.

-X-

Dib sat in one of the trees the encompassed the cul-de-sac where Zim lived. He pulled out his binoculars and zoomed in closely, until he could see through Zim's window into the living room. There, he could see a figure moving about. Without looking down, Dib started to write in his notebook.

"Alien in view, looks like Zim's robot. What was his name again...? Agh, whatever. Subject looks to be grabbing random things and taking them into the kitchen. Kitchen contains entrance to base. Subject takes nine minutes and twenty seconds to return. Is he taking stuff into the base? Only time will tell." Dib continued to narrate his findings to himself, maybe just a tad too loudly. Luckily, he didn't think anyone in the house could hear him.

Once Dib got tired of watching, he turned his attention to the garden gnomes out front. He knew his way around the gnome field pretty well, and he was confident that he could make it inside without a problem. Especially if the robot was the only one walking around. For some reason, the metal henchmen loved having Dib around. Which was a first. Dib hopped from branch to branch until he was able to safely climb down from the tree with only a few minor scrapes to his hands. He cupped his hands around his eyes to see into the building just as the robot was exiting the toilet(Dib never understood why Zim thought having a toilet in the kitchen was normal). The robot stopped walking and turned around and spotted Dib. The human made no effort to move. Instead, he beckoned the henchman closer and to let him in. The robot happily unlocked the window and pushed it open, allowing Dib to climb through.

"Thanks, um... I can never remember your name." Dib fixed his hair.

"TURKEY MAN!" GIR screeched.

"Oh, um. Thanks... t... turkey man."

"YOU'RE WELCOME!" GIR skipped over to a cabinet and started stashing unfamiliar snacks into his head.

"Hey, what are you doing? What have you and Zim been up to?" Dib asked carefully.

"WE'RE GOING ON A TRIP IN OUR FAVORITE ROCKET SHIP!" said GIR excitedly.

"A trip? Like, to space?"

"Mm-hmm!"

"Why?"

"Uuuh... I dunno!" GIR shrugged, and when he was happy with his head full of snacks, he stood up and started walking to the toilet.

Dib, curious, decided to follow the robot. There was a good chance that he was going to come face to face with Zim again, but he didn't mind. He always managed to get Zim to tell him what his plan was. Dib thought the alien was entirely too easy to persuade. It was almost criminal. The elevator hum was drowned out by GIR's obnoxious singing the entire way down. Dib had honestly grown used to it since he started his battles with Zim. It was just to be expected at this point.

The elevator opened up to Zim's hangar bay. A room that Dib rarely ever got to see. He saw the familiar voot cruiser as he took a step outside the elevator. The cruiser looked smaller than Dib remembered, probably because Dib had gotten taller over the years while Zim had only gained about an inch or two, maybe less. He could still probably fit comfortably inside, but he didn't want to try his luck just yet. Dib followed GIR to the side of the ship where he dispensed the snacks he'd collected into a storage unit. Surprisingly, Zim was nowhere to be seen yet.

"So, um... Where is Zim, exactly?"

GIR thought about his question, maybe for too long before screeching loudly and then shrugged like nothing just happened. Then he went back to the elevator and went down again. Dib decided to look around some more and see if he could figure out where Zim was going or what his plan was. He opened the windshield into the cockpit and stepped inside. He looked around for a minute and sat down in the seat. He looked down at the panel and narrowed his eyes as he tried experimenting with pushing buttons. He knew how to read some of the irken language, and soon, he had a screen displaying what looked like plans for a cannon as well as a planet. The only thing Dib could understand was that Zim was heading to a planet to collect metals for a cannon. What the planet was and what the cannon was for, Dib had no idea. He could only assume that it was for nothing good. Dib nearly jumped out of his skin as he exited out of the plans as he heard the sound of the elevator returning. He ducked behind the seat and backed into the far corners of the cockpit. This time, GIR wasn't alone. He heard the voice of his alien nemesis as they walked towards the ship.

"And they will PAY for the pain that they have caused me! For the years of torment! I will have them sniveling and cowering before me. Then, and only then will my plan be complete. GIR, is the ship ready?"

GIR nodded. "THERE'S A CHICKEN IN THERE!"

Zim didn't seem very amused. He just sighed and crossed his arms across his chest. "GIR, go get the chicken out of the cockpit. It's going to make a mess."

GIR bounded over to the ship and leaned in, looking straight at Dib. "COME ON OUT, CHICKEN!"

Dib shook his head and waved his arms in an attempt to make the robot quiet. He already knew he'd been caught, though. So instead of making any more trouble than what was necessary, Dib rolled his eyes and stood up, climbing out of the ship. The look of shock on Zim's face was almost worth the trouble.

"GIR, when you said 'chicken', this is not what I thought you meant." Zim turned to the human, his face twisted into a nasty sneer. It was not a look Dib was very familiar with, which made him uneasy. "What on Irk are you doing in here, Dib?" He spat the name like it was the most disgusting word that landed on his tongue.

"What do you think? I'm going to stop whatever evil plan you're thinking of."

"This plan does not concern you."

"Well, none of your plans do, but-"

"NO. I'm serious, Dib-beast. This plan has nothing to do with Earth."

The statement threw Dib for a loop. "It doesn't?"

"No. Now get out of the way." Zim shoved Dib to the side so he could climb into his ship, GIR right behind him.

He was just about to close the window when Dib leaned in, rocking the ship with how hard he pushed.

"What do you mean by this plan having nothing to do with Earth? Where are you going? How long will you be gone? What's the cannon for?"

Zim's face twisted into a deeper expression of disgust. "Unhand my ship, worm. Before I blast you off of it."

"Take me with you."

Zim couldn't help the laugh that escaped his throat.

"Hah! You wouldn't last a day!"

"All the more reason, right? I'd hopefully get to see some of space, and if I die along the way, then you'd have successfully gotten rid of me, and you can do whatever it is that you want from then on. It's a win win situation, really."

Zim seemed to really consider this. His expression softened a tad as he thought. It took a couple of minutes before he came to his decision, sticking his non-existent nose in the air. 

"Fine. But you don't touch anything, you don't look at anything, and there will be no lively conversation. We'll be gone for approximately three weeks, and you have two hours to pack before we leave. With or without you."

Dib happily jumped off of the ship and pumped his fist in the air.

"Yes! Space travel, here I come!"

Zim leaned over the dashboard, standing on the chair. "GO! Before I change my mind!"

-X-

Dib was out of the house in an instant. He ran towards his own front door and barely even greeted Gaz before he flew up the stairs into his room. Inside, he took out his duffle bag and began to shove clothes, water bottles, and basic toiletries into it. He grabbed his backpack and put his laptop and numerous notebooks in before slinging it over his shoulder. He slid down the bannister with his bags and went into the kitchen. There, he packed any canned or dry foods he could scavenge from the pantry along with several nutrition bars and small snack cakes. He didn't even notice Gaz come in and walk up to him.

"Do I even want to know what you're doing?"

Her voice startled Dib, making him jump. He quickly recovered and turned around excitedly.

"Gaz! Thank goodness I have you to talk to. I'm going with Zim to travel through space!"

Gaz raised a brow. "At the risk of sounding interested, why?"

"Well... I don't know the exact reason. But Zim is going to this planet to gather metals or whatever for some kind of cannon. He says that it's not for Earth, though, which is weird, so I'm going with him to see what's up!" Dib continued to pack. 

"Uh-huh. And you really believe that he's not using a cannon to destroy the earth? That sounds like a very 'Zim' thing to do."

"Well if he's lying, I'll know, and since I'll be on board with him anyway, I can stop him! Don't worry, Gaz, I'll be fine!"

"I'm not worried about you, you dunce."

"Ouch."

Dib zipped his duffel bag closed and stood up. "Well, either way, I'm going to be gone for a few weeks, so have fun without me, and tell dad what I'm up to!"

"He'll never believe you."

"But you do, and that's what really matters." 

Dib exchanged glances with his sister and started making his way back out the front door and down the street leading into the familiar cul-de-sac.

-X-

Zim sat in the cockpit, feet kicked up and his head down. He pondered his decision to allow Dib aboard. Was it really a good idea? He should just leave now while the human was gone. Every second he sat there thinking was another second that brought Dib closer to his ship. Yet he couldn't bring himself to start the engines right now. What was keeping him? What exactly did Dib bring to the table in terms of this mission? His hideous face? His gargantuan head to just take up more space? His stupid obsession with interplanetary travel? Just company or someone to converse with? He didn't know the ins and outs of the plan like Zim did, so what was the point? He wasn't about to tell his enemy his plans or his motives behind them, either. That was out of the question. Zim glanced down to see GIR coloring in a book that he'd given him. He didn't try to stop the small smile that stretched across his face. At least there was one thing that he could strangely find himself counting on.

Zim looked up just in time to see the elevator doors open again, and an excited Dib making his way across the hangar bay. Zim looked down at his clock. Curses, he was thirty minutes early. He reluctantly opened the windshield to the cockpit and let Dib through. The human threw his bag in the farthest part of the voot and climbed in.

"Where are we going?" He asked as he sat down.

"Remember the part where I said there'd be no lively conversation?" Zim snapped as he pressed buttons to get the engine running.

"I wasn't trying to engage in conversation, it was just a question."

Zim was silent, ignoring Dib's statement. Instead, he put his focus on getting the voot in the air. The engines sputtered and then hummed loudly as the roof to Zim's base split, allowing the cruiser to take off. The little ship was really fast, much faster than it looked. Dib felt himself being pressed against the wall, while Zim looked completely unfazed. Of course he would, he'd done this plenty of times before. But the speed of the ship excited Dib. It wasn't as fast as Tak's ship, but something about the voot's homemade everything rattling as it took through the air made Dib feel like it was more comfortable. He pulled his knees to his chest until they finally escaped the Earth's atmosphere.

From there, the voot seemed to slow a bit. Dib figured the ship was put on autopilot, but Zim didn't budge from his seat. There was a really uncomfortable silence between the three of them, but Dib didn't dare say anything. Not yet. Not when they were still close to Earth, and Zim could just turn the ship around. He though he'd wait until his home planet was completely out of view first. Dib took off his backpack and pulled his laptop out, barely registering the small twitch of Zim's antenna out of the corner of his eye. Great, Zim was now listening to everything he did. This was going to be a long trip. Dib was surprised the energetic alien was still quiet. It made Dib wonder. Zim had been so ready to pick a fight with him only hours earlier. He wondered what changed. He opened his mouth to ask, but quickly closed it again. Not while the Earth was still visible. Not while he and Zim were still on some very thin ice. Instead, he started tapping away on his laptop.

Dib wasn't sure just how much time went by before Zim finally spoke up. His voice was calm and even. A strange tone that didn't really match him.

"It's going to be a long three weeks, I hope you know that."

Dib shrugged. "I wasn't exactly planning on doing anything super interesting."

Zim hummed in acknowledgment. Dib guessed that was the end of that interaction. He decided to test the waters a couple of minutes later. He was still upset at Zim, but he was going to lose his mind if he had no one to talk to for three weeks. 

"Do you think that ghosts know that they're dead?"

Zim turned in his seat, a strange look on his face.

"What?"

Dib was silently happy he'd gotten a reaction. "I mean, think about it. If you were to die, but your soul continues on like nothing happened, would you ever know that something was wrong?"

Zim turned back in his seat. For a second, Dib thought he'd lost his interest, but to his surprise, he answered.

"I couldn't tell you. I'm not dead."

"I mean, I'm not either."

"That's a question for a ghost, Dib."

Dib was about to make a jab at Zim, but thought that it wasn't a good idea, and left the short conversation there. There was a chance that a poorly-timed joke might set off the alien, and Dib wasn't looking to go home just yet. He figured he'd have to sit through many of these short interactions before he could upgrade to a longer conversation. Not to mention that he'd have to find something that Zim liked and Dib didn't mind talking about, which was difficult.

Zim found the strangest things interesting. Like the way that some humans have freckles, or why some ink is red instead of black. He'd stare at a piece of paper and ponder how it was made from a tree or ask constant questions about skunks. And the things Dib found to be interesting, Zim found very 'meh'. Zim could name every single star in the sky if he wanted, and he could tell Dib all he wanted to know about his own galaxy along with countless others. He'd do all this in the most unenthusiastic, disinterested voice and completely suck the fun out of the subject. The only worthwhile conversation Dib ever had with him was when he'd asked why pigs were so useful for experiments. He had definitely not expected just how in-depth Zim would get in his explanation and how graphic he was in his details. It was certainly a good conversation between them.

Dib regretted now being on such poor terms with Zim. Whenever they weren't fighting, Dib learned all kinds of things from him. He'd teach Dib a sentence or two in Irken(if he was feeling particularly charitable), he'd tell him several stories about Irk or other planets, he'd teach him how to hack into certain security systems just to mess with other people or how two construct a complex bomb made only out of a soda can and some wiring. It was times like those where Dib was sure Zim wasn't as stupid as he sometimes made it seem like he was. Maybe Dib should apologize. He still hated the idea of Zim being in his head and controlling him, but he also didn't like walking on eggshells around him. Dib took a deep breath and looked up at Zim over his laptop.

"I'm sorry, Zim."

The alien gave no response, and Dib rolled his eyes. Of course he wanted more than that, he was talking to Zim after all.

"I'm sorry for being kind of an asshole about the whole 'mind control' thing. I still don't like that you did it, but probably more importantly, I also don't want to be mad any more. Being mad sucks and it doesn't get me anywhere. What's done is done."

With that, Zim spun around in the pilot seat to face the human. The expression he wore was unreadable, which to Dib, was really disconcerting. Zim was normally such an open book, and Dib thought for sure that he'd at least have some sort of cocky smile.

"I appreciate your apology, Dib-beast. Therefore, I accept it. Were you looking for something in return?"

Dib frowned slightly in confusion. "Um... No? Just... It was just an apology, man."

Zim narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but then turned back around. After about a minute of silence, Dib looked back down at his laptop, frowning deeper. Why was Zim acting so weird? Was it something he said? No, that can't be it. Dib said nothing wrong. And if he did, Zim didn't point it out like he usually would. Something had to have happened when they both went home after skool. Maybe GIR had done something to particularly tick him off. But if that was the case, why was he looking at every picture that the little robot showed him instead of tearing them to shreds? To be fair, GIR being occupied with colors and paper made him a hundred times more tolerable than if he were just running amuck. Deciding that there was no point in waiting for three weeks, Dib decided to ask. Dib didn't exactly expect a response, considering Zim's strange behavior. If he was honest, he didn't know what to expect. Zim was so unpredictable. 

"Are you in like, a bad mood or something?"

"Why do you care?"

Yeah, that was about what Dib had anticipated. But the question made him think. Why did he care? The honest answer was that he didn't, really. He was more interested in the strange behavior itself, not really the emotion behind it. Dib wondered about the reason for the change. He shook his head and looked up again.

"Just curious." He thought it was a good response. Short and vague.

Zim huffed softly. "These three weeks are going to be made much longer if you keep asking those kinds of questions. Stick to your own weird human interests, would you?"

"Okay, which planet are we going to? That's among my interests."

Zim seemed to ponder the question. Probably whether or not he should entertain it with an answer.

"Zorg."

"Zorg? What's on Zorg?"

This time, there came no explanation. Not that it really bothered Dib. He'd gotten his answer, and he wasn't about to press. He simply turned to look out into the depths of space. It was so empty and endless, but Dib was overjoyed to be out in it again. It was his greatest obsession apart from his usual cryptid-hunting. He always thoroughly enjoyed the space battles he and Zim used to have. Even driving Mercury around was a butt load of fun(no pun intended). From the voot, Dib could see Mars, and another question rose in his mind.

"Hey, do you think those weird martians ever built anything else?"

Zim turned his head to look at the distant planet.

"They never said. Their stupid instruction manual heads only said so much before their inferior race was wiped out by... whatever it was they were wiped out by."

The next few hours went by with a few sparse conversations that varied in the amount of time. Dib would ask about a planet or a star system, and Zim would answer. If Zim found the topic to be of particular interest, then they'd talk longer. Alternatively, if Zim found the topic to be of no interest, then he usually answered Dib's questions either unenthusiastically, or with one-word responses. Eventually, though, they managed to branch off and talk about other things. Dib was surprised when he found himself talking about funny stories from his childhood, and hearing Zim laugh at them. And it wasn't even the laugh he usually did when he was making fun of him, either. Zim's laugh was kind of breathy, he wheezed a lot. But he was also weirdly high-pitched. It reminded Dib of a hyena, but more... alien. As unhelpful as that was. When Dib tried to replicate the sound, it only made Zim laugh more. Dib learned then that Zim didn't laugh from his "stomach" or chest, but from his throat. Turns out, irkens can make a large variety of sounds. It was how they were able to replicate foreign languages of other planets instead of just being able to read it. Dib found that particular conversation extremely interesting, and probably his favorite thus far. Dib wasn't sure just how long they'd been talking, but eventually, he started to get tired.

"Ah, yes. I forget, the inferior human body needs rest." Zim waved his hand and turned again in his seat to face his dashboard. "I will not stop you, Dib-beast."

Dib snorted. "Thanks, I guess."

Dib scooted down to the floor and rested his head on his duffle bag. He silently mulled over the events that had just taken place. He was out in space, curled up in a small ship with Zim. It only made him slightly uneasy to think about just how easy Zim could end him right there if he wanted, yet Dib had to trust him not to. His eyes began to slip closed as he thought about the planet they were heading to. It wasn't long before he was fast asleep from the dull roar of the small ship.

-X-

The next three weeks went by roughly. Zim was clearly starting to get more and more agitated, and whenever Dib would ask why or try to help, Zim would either explode or shut down completely. What few conversations they did manage to make, Zim got increasingly bitter. What really concerned Dib, however, was the nasty comments he'd make about Irk. Dib had made the mistake of asking why he was saying those things about his own planet, and it earned him the deadliest look he'd ever seen with zero explanation and total silence on Zim's part the rest of that day. Zim didn't ever sleep, either, which made Dib's "job" of finding out what was wrong so much harder. He knew GIR had the answer. The little robot was practically stitched to Zim's side. But Dib couldn't talk to him for more than a few minutes before Zim called him away. It also didn't help that he could hear their conversations due to the close proximity. 

There was one thing, though, that GIR said that Dib found interesting. GIR had been surprisingly clever in his words and said that "magenta birds don't like crickets". At first, the statement perplexed Dib. He'd found it so odd and out of place that for some reason, he decided to try and figure it out. With some quick looking through his laptop, he found 'magenta' was a mixture of red and purple. Strange. Why would GIR pick this color in particular? Then, with some thought, Dib felt he had to slap himself. It was the colors of Zim's two tallest. But then what did GIR mean that they don't like crickets? If the cricket was in reference to Zim, then obviously the tallest didn't like him. Dib didn't think anyone did. But was that really what was plaguing the alien this whole time? Dib figured it was more than that if it was going to turn Zim so bitter and spiteful.

One day, however, Dib was woken up to an alarm blaring. Zim was out of his seat and leaning over the dashboard, looking out at the approaching planet. He didn't have to turn for Dib to see the large, malicious grin across his face.

"Rise and shine, Dib-creature. And welcome to planet Zorg."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading my first chapter! I write kind of slow, so please bear with me. I'll try to update as much as humanly possible. I really hope you enjoy this fic, I'm ridiculously proud of it.


	2. Shiny Metals and Frayed Edges

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Planet Zorg. A lovely-ish planet covered in exotic metals. Its buildings are tall and metallic with a soft emerald and lavender hue. They tower over its residents and twist into smooth loops, knots, and zig zag over each other. The sidewalks are also metal, but they're an opaque blue that don't reflect any sunlight! Zim and Dib go into the city in search for a certain metal. How will they obtain such a rare substance?

Dib couldn't tell if Zorg was impressive or not. Sure it was huge, shiny, and definitely creative in terms of architecture, but there was also the lack of soul that unsettled him. There were billboards and ads plastered everywhere advertising who knows what. The sky was an unpleasant sepia tone, and the air stunk of burning metal and hair, and instead of dirt, it was coarse gravel as far as the eye could see. The only decor that could be seen around were tall, twisting metal trees that reminded Dib of the terrible aluminum sculptures he'd seen. 

He stuck close to Zim who seemed very familiar with these surroundings. Either that, or he was just confident he could get around. Dib guessed it was probably the latter. The inhabitants of the planet seemed to form an unnecessarily large gap in order to accommodate their passage. Dib wasn't sure if it was because of him or Zim. They both stuck out like sore thumbs, but Zim had a much more authoritative air about him. More than Dib had ever seen. It was if he'd owned the place. Which honestly wouldn't surprise Dib, but when he looked around, he could see no other irken, which piqued his interest.

"Hey, how come there are no other irkens here?"

Zim scoffed. "There are no planets in the Zeta sector that are under Irken control. It's too far away, so it'd just be an inconvenience. Well, for now, anyway."

"Is that why everyone is practically running away from us?"

Zim looked around like it was his first time noticing the large empty space between them and the rest of civilization.

"Ah, yes. They think I'm scoping out the place. Which, technically I am, but they don't know why we're really here."

"And what exactly are we here for?" Dib raised an eyebrow. He'd almost forgotten to ask Zim during the entire trip.

To Dib's surprise, though, Zim had finally decided to grace him with an answer.

"What does it look like, Dib-beast? We're here for metals and spare parts!" He seemed almost excited about it. It made Dib's chest flutter strangely. Maybe he was just happy to see Zim finally in a good enough mood.

"Why come all this way, though? Surely irken metals and parts are just as good."

Zim tsk'd. "Not for my current project. I need something much stronger than what I have."

Dib had debated bringing up the fact that Zim had never told him what exactly his project was. But if the way he reacted to the question the first few times was anything to go by, it wasn't the best idea. But if Zim was in a good mood...

"So... What... is your big project, anyway?"

Zim suddenly fell silent, and Dib grew impatient.

"Come on, Zim. You've dragged me out this far, it's the least you could do. You don't have to tell me why you came up with it, I just want to know what it is."

Zim still didn't respond, and Dib was about to give up completely when Zim spoke again.

"I'm making a cannon. It's going to be large and powerful enough to blow up a planet's star." Zim glanced backwards at Dib. "That good enough for you?"

Dib could only nod. A cannon? He'd seen the idea for it already, but to take out a sun? Why? It definitely wasn't the first thing that came to Dib's mind when he thought about Zim's plans. They were always so... dumb. Now he's upgraded to making some large and powerful cannon? Zim's response only generated more questions than answers. And if Dib wanted any of the answers, he'd have to dance around the subject and choose his words carefully from now on. After all, Zim was pretty good at picking up when Dib was steering the conversation into a "forbidden" subject. Dib decided to bite his tongue and humor him.

"A cannon, huh? I have to say, that's not a bad idea. Especially one that powerful? Very impressive."

"Pfft. Of course. I am Zim, and I'm amazing." 

The words didn't have their usual zing behind them, which Dib found a little bit worrying. Despite it, he kept going. 

"I'll bet your tallest would be proud of you."

Dib barely had time to register that Zim had stopped walking at the mention of the tallest.

"Um... Zim?"

Zim stood, frozen in place. Then, in a split second, his PAK legs exploded outwards, nearly taking Dib's head off. Zim was lifted to meet Dib at eye level, and the look in his eyes was enough to make the hairs on the back of Dib's neck stand. What was normally bright and bubbly was now muted and had extremely small black pinpoints, like the eyes of a praying mantis(if a mantis' eyes were magenta). Anger practically radiated from the small irken, making Dib's skin crawl.

"Don't. Mention the tallest. Ever again."

Somehow, the lack of obvious anger in his voice made the situation much more intense. Dib nodded again, and Zim slowly got back down to the ground, replacing the long legs back into the PAK, and continued walking. Dib had definitely not anticipated that. Zim normally didn't mind if Dib had mentioned his leaders, he'd done it plenty of times before without getting threatened. Zim usually took every opportunity available to rave about his supposedly beloved tallest. There must have been some kind of falling out with them if Zim were to have such an emotional reaction. Which, if Dib was being honest, fit Zim pretty much to a T. He always had a bad habit of picking at authority, and Dib had met plenty of other irkens to know that he was the only one. With that, Dib sighed softly and continued on, the intensity of the interaction weighing heavily on his mind.

-X-

Zim walked into a nearby building, Dib trailing behind. The clerk turned around and nearly dropped whatever it was he was holding in his hands. Zim began to speak to the clerk in the planet's native tongue. It was a strange mix of what sounded like it could maybe possibly pass as Italian, but it was interrupted by harsh grunts and hard clicks. The conversation didn't seem to be going well, and Zim was getting progressively more upset as the clerk stuck his long, pointy nose in the air. Suddenly, the irken jumped up on the counter and got in the clerk's face. Dib tried to rush over and tug at his tunic, but his pleads for Zim to stop were promptly ignored. Dib then hooked his arm around Zim's small waist and forced him backwards. Zim kicked, flailed, and screeched as he was dragged out of the shop.

"What the hell is wrong with you- Ow!" Dib dropped Zim as the alien's teeth sunk deep into his arm.

Zim whipped around, his heel clacking angrily on the metal sidewalk. Dib tried to ignore the thin stream of his own blood in Zim's mouth. 

"INSOLENT FOOL BOY! I ALMOST HAD HIM!" He waved his arms wildly, earning looks of worry from passersby. 

"What were you going to do, rob him?"

The question only seemed to make Zim angrier, which Dib had a hard time understanding why.

"NO! I WAS NEGOTIATING!"

"That's not what it looked like to me." Dib crossed his arms.

"WHAT ON IRK DO YOU KNOW?! YOU DON'T KNOW HOW THIS PLANET WORKS! I DO!"

Dib felt his stomach drop, but he refused to lose face. It annoyed Dib to know that Zim was right. He'd completely jumped the gun. He should have just kept his big mouth shut. But, at the same time, he knew Zim was prone to violence if he didn't get what he wanted. That was at the forefront of Dib's mind right now.

"Now you've just made this trip a whole lot harder."

"Oh yeah? And how'd I do that?" Dib snapped.

Zim groaned and scratched at the sides of his head really fast before whipping them back down to his sides. It was an odd display that unsettled Dib a little. He briefly wondered if that was a temper tantrum, or if it was some kind of strange tick he'd never seen before. 

"Zorgians communicate via a hive mind database. So now they all know that we could be potential threats. Zorgians are also super stingy, so now I have to work double time to get what we came here for."

"Well if you'd told me these things back on the ship, we wouldn't be having this problem."

Zim froze, and gave Dib a look of feigned bewilderment. His tone, however, changed to one of cold, heartless distaste.

"Oh, I'M sorry. I don't remember asking you to join us. I didn't think you'd be this fucking stupid, but I guess I was wrong."

Dib felt something twist in his chest. Not only did Zim take a painful jab at his intelligence, but it was also the first time he'd ever admitted that he was wrong about something. Granted, it was because he was trying to get his point across. Which had worked, Dib understood the message loud and clear. And yet, he could think of nothing more to say. Zim then turned on his heel and growled before storming back down the sidewalk, and Dib had no choice but to follow.

"Dare I ask where to next?" Dib asked flatly.

Zim didn't seem to be cooling down.

"No."

Dib was lead to another large and equally shiny building. It reflected the planet's sun way too well, and Dib was having a hard time looking at it for too long. Zim shoved the heavy doors open with little effort and waltzed in like he was in some kind of hurry. The whole thing didn't seem like he was trying to win back the Zorgian's trust. But, to avoid further conflict, he let Zim do his thing. Dib decided he'd only intervene if Zim were to shove a gun or something in someone's face.

Zim stopped in the center of the room, looking around, antennae flicking left to right, and then up and down. He inhaled deeply(Dib wondered how he did that without a nose), and turned his head to the right.

"Bingo." Zim smiled mischievously, and began to walk in the direction he was looking.

Dib didn't care for the way Zim started walking around. His antennae twitched wildly, listening for something that never reached Dib's ears. If he was trying to be sneaky, he was doing both terribly, and impeccably. The few people who were roaming the building paid absolutely no attention to them, but if anyone had, Dib had a feeling they'd know exactly that they were up to no good. He felt like they were doing some sort of heist. The building's interior aesthetic certainly reeked of some old cheesy action movie. However, Zim's antics were getting increasingly difficult to ignore.

"What the hell are you doing?" Dib whispered, afraid to alert anyone of their presence.

"Listening. Now shush." Zim leaned against a doorframe and poked his head out. He looked left and then right, and then left again.

"This way." Zim walked down the narrow hallway to the left.

Dib was starting to get antsy with the sudden lack of people around coupled with the uncomfortable silence, save for his and Zim's footsteps. They then arrived at a vault door with a sign on it. Dib couldn't read the language, but it looked enough like a warning that he felt he didn't have to.

"What's in there?" Dib's asked the question without much thought. 

"Armory. And other precious metals." Zim walked up to the door and put his antennae against it.

"And... what exactly are we doing here?" Dib had a dreaded feeling that he already knew the answer. 

"The Zorgians think we're a threat..." Zim turned to Dib, his mischievous smile never wavering. "... So let's be a threat."

Dib had to admit, he was slightly taken aback. It wasn't exactly what he was expecting, even though he knew it really should have been. He just didn't think Zim was being serious.

"H-Hold on, this isn't a good idea."

Zim's smile turned to a look of annoyance before he turned back to the door.

"It's your fault that we're in this mess to begin with. The Zorgians aren't going to be so forgiving." Zim reached behind him and pulled a device out of his PAK.

"And they're REALLY not going to be if we're going to steal from them."

Zim placed the device against the door, and with the twist of a knob, it clicked and stuck, hissing loudly.

"What is that?"

"Do you ever stop asking questions?"

"Zim, WHAT is that?"

Zim tapped a few buttons on the small panel and walked next to Dib.

"You might want to cover your disgusting ears." Zim said as he tightly grasped at the ends of his antennae.

"Wha-"

Dib barely had enough time to do exactly that before there was a ear-splitting screech coming from the device as sparks began to fly. The sound then stopped abruptly before the ground shook violently as the door exploded open, sending small metallic shrapnel through the air. Dib covered his face, and his arms were sprayed with sharp, hot metal. Slightly bigger pieces pierced his skin and tore through muscle, and Dib swore he could feel shards scraping against bone, making him howl in agony. The smoke burned his eyes, and the alarm that went off was deafening. He looked down to see Zim safely encased in a light, transparent pink bubble. Zim smiled again and the bubble disappeared as he bounded forward into the ruined doorway.

Dib coughed and waved away the smoke as best he could, trying not to look at his ruined arms. He cautiously stepped forward into the armory, looking around. The room was equally filled with thick, black smoke, making Dib's eyes water. He used the collar of his coat to cover his nose and mouth as he felt his way through the large room. His hand then made contact with something that jumped and slapped it away.

"Watch where you're putting your nasty sausage-feelers!"

"Well it's not like I can see!"

Dib heard a sigh.

"Of course you can't. You humans are so needy."

Dib suddenly felt his head being pulled down, and something heavy being put over it. It clasped uncomfortably tight around his neck.

"There. Can you see now?"

Dib slowly opened his eyes, and he could see Zim through some kind of goggles which were tinted green.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Whatever. We need to keep moving." Zim pointed to a shelf containing small vials. "Grab as many of those as you can carry."

Dib felt something be thrown against his chest. It looked like a satchel. He exchanged glances with Zim and the bag.

"Go! Do you WANT to be sent to Moo-Ping 10?"

Dib shuddered at the name of the prison he'd only been to once before to break his father out of. He suddenly started to fill the satchel with the vials so quickly, he didn't have much time to process what he was doing. The rush of adrenaline was all he could think about right now. He wasn't sure what Zim was grabbing, they weren't taking the same things. Dib decided he'd ask later.

Once the satchel was practically fit to burst, Dib closed the latch and put it over his shoulder, wincing at the sharp pain in his arms.

"We need to leave, Zim, now." Dib said, the urgency strong in his voice.

"Patience, dookie-brain. You forget..." Zim sang. "... We're in an armory."

Dib felt his face drain color.

"Zim, that's not necessary, we have what we need."

Zim waved his hand, and Dib heard the sound of loud footsteps approaching.

"Fine, YOU can go back. But without me, you can't get back home."

Dib groaned loudly. Zim was right, he still needed Zim to pilot the voot. It was worlds different from Tak's ship simply because it was so customized.

"WHATEVER. Let's just go!"

Zim stood, a gun larger than his head in his hands. He had a determined smile on his face as he flipped a switch, the gun whirring to life. As soon as the first guard poked their head through the door, Zim flipped a lever on the side. The gun shot out a powerful blue-white laser, slicing the guards' head clean off. The kickback of the weapon would have been enough to send the small irken flying had it not been for the long PAK legs to catch him. Zim flipped the switch back, and laughed loudly.

"Wow! I have GOT to get me one of these! Oh wait! I do!" Zim laughed triumphantly as he gracefully swung out of the door on the long mechanical legs and swiftly cleared the hallway.

Behind him, Dib was witness to Zim's carnage. Bodies dropped, and he was showered with a thick emerald green blood that smelled strongly of rubber. The whole scene made Dib's stomach roll violently, and bile threatened to make its way past his teeth. However, Dib refused to vomit while he was wearing a tightly-fitted mask. Zim continued his rampage even when they got outside, and it continued all the way to the voot. There, Zim dropped off his stolen weapons, and Dib climbed hastily into the ship just as the windshield was beginning to close. The little ship then took off, leaving violent devastation in their wake.

-X-

Dib tore off the helmet and threw it against the back of Zim's seat. The alien turned with a cold look.

"Was all that REALLY necessary?!"

"Did you want to get out alive or not?"

"But the people outside?! They were INNOCENT!"

Zim got up from his seat. Zim standing towered over a sitting Dib. Looking closer, Dib saw that Zim was just as drenched with blood as he was. It leaked into his left eye, the blood turning it a milky pinkish green. 

"They were just as dangerous as the guards inside. You should be thanking me."

"Thanking you...?" Dib breathed out like he'd just gotten hit in the gut. "For cold-blooded murder?"

Zim sneered. "It was self defense, and you know it."

"They didn't TOUCH us! YOU decided to steal instead of talk! If they HAD attacked us, then it would have been self defense on THEIR part! They did nothing WRONG!" Dib's voice started to break as tears fell down his cheeks.

"They wouldn't have given us anything if I HAD asked. We got what we came for, that's it." Zim stuck his hand out expectantly.

Dib gripped the satchel tightly and turned it to where the vials were against his back.

"Why are these so important that you're willing to take lives for them?"

"Give me the bag, Dib." Zim's voice dripped with venom.

Dib gripped the bag tighter, surprised that he was able to push aside the painful throbbing that started in his arms.

"Why. Is it. Important?" Dib gritted his teeth.

"It's none of your business."

"I'm MAKING it my business. Tell me, or I swear to God I will break every single one." Dib took a vial out of the bag and white-knuckled it.

Zim sneered and lowered his hand. He slammed his fist down on a button on the console without breaking eye contact. A hologram of a cannon lit up. Zim said nothing else.

"Yeah, I know about the cannon. What of it?"

"I need these because it's the only material strong enough to hold it together."

"Yeah, you said that already. What's it FOR?"

"A sun."

"WHICH sun?"

"I told you, it's not for Earth!"

The vial started to crack under Dib's grasp. The sound made Zim jolt.

"FINE!" Zim growled. "IT'S FOR MINE!"

Dib's hold immediately loosened. He looked at Zim in shock.

"You mean Irk."

"... Yes."

"Why?"

Zim's lip curled, and he looked away.

"I..." Zim turned around, his back to Dib. He looked down at GIR who was starting to chew on his foot.

"I don't have to answer that."

"Is that why you've been acting so weird?"

Zim turned, nearly losing his balance.

"Zim feels perfectly fine. Zim doesn't know what you're talking about."

Dib attempted to stand, but decided against it. "I think you do. I know you're normally not... THAT violent." 

Zim scoffed. "Stupid human. You've clearly been mistaken. Or are you just blind?"

It's true, Dib had never really considered that Zim might have some serious violence issues. Despite the fact that he stole and hoarded organs into his own body and replaced a human brain with a squid brain and let the poor host drown in the ocean. Dib always thought that wasn't a huge deal because Zim usually kept his subjects alive. Why Dib glazed over these seemingly obvious things was a mystery to him. He knew Zim was capable of so much more than what he did on a normal day-to-day basis, Zim was just always focused on using the stupidity of others to his advantage. Which Dib thought was fairly.... intelligent?

"No, Zim, I'm not blind." He sighed and replaced the vial back into the bag. He put it on the ground and gently kicked it across the floor.

"I don't know WHY you want to blow up your own sun, but as long as it has nothing to do with Earth, I don't really care."

Zim stared at Dib as he picked up the bag. He looked over a few of the vials before stowing it in a compartment in the floor. A few moments of uncomfortable silence passed between the two. Dib just couldn't wrap his head around what had taken place. He was not only a witness to a mass murder, but an accomplice. The last thing he wanted was for alien authorities to finally find him hiding out on earth and make quick work of his demise. Hell, that wasn't even on the list of things to do. And it was all Zim's fault. He didn't have do any of that, he didn't have to kill. Thinking back to the sound of falling bodies and the sound of thick, fat droplets of blood hitting his helmet... it was just too much for him to process right now. Right now, the only thing Dib wanted to do was sleep. Finally, Zim spoke again.

"That looks bad." He gestured to Dib's arms.

"It's your fault, jerk."

"Yeah, well, do you want it to get infected and rot?"

Dib only grunted and relaxed his arms into his lap. It was then that he started to notice it burn and throb wildly. He groaned at the pain and clenched his jaw tightly. The sight of it was enough to make his stomach turn all over again. There were several large and small pieces of metal lodged into his skin, and chunks of his flesh had been ripped away, revealing the dark red muscle tissue and several veins. Dib felt his chin get pushed away with surprising gentleness.

"Don't look at it."

"Ugh, too late."

"...Idiot."

"I think I'm gonna puke."

"You will do no such thing."

Zim sat down with a huff and began working on Dib's arm.

"I hope you know, the anesthetic is going to burn. A lot."

"But I'm not going to feel whatever you do to it, so that's what matters, I guess."

Zim hummed in acknowledgment. There was a clatter of Zim digging for something in some kind of compartment. Then there was a brief pause before an unbearable fire started in his arm, making him cry out in pain and start digging his heels into the floor. 

"I TOLD you it was going to burn."

"YOU COULD HAVE WARNED ME THAT YOU WERE PUTTING IT ON!" Tears sprung to Dib's eyes. 

"Oh, don't be a baby." 

Zim dabbed more of the horrible liquid into his wounds, making Dib scream and cry until his arms were finally completely numb after what felt like hours.

"You're such an asshole."

"You can't say that I didn't warn you, though."

Zim set aside the bottle of anesthetic and grabbed a pair of goggles and what looked like a fancy pair of alien tweezers.

"I'm going to take the shrapnel out now. I strongly urge you to not look down for the duration of this process." Zim looked up. "But if you do, know it's your own fault and I told you not to."

"Yeah, yeah, just get on with it."

Zim put on the goggles and looked back down. He pulled a variety of bottles, syringes, swabs, tweezers, and knives along with a small tray and a strange-looking device.

For the next several hours, the pair sat there. Zim worked delicately on Dib's wounds, and Dib cringed every time Zim pulled out a particularly large piece of metal. Feeling it rip and tear as it was slowly pulled out of his arm, yet he felt none of the pain that would have come with it. Dib had initially tried to keep count, but he'd eventually lost interest at seventy-five. Turns out, the strange-looking device was some kind of cauterizer, Dib could tell from the smell. It was enough to make him sick again. But since he was being tended to, he figured that the least he could do was to not puke on the floor. Even though he was sure that the floor was made a mess with his blood anyway.

Dib had tried to distract himself with thinking about home. Thinking about his favorite snacks and thinking about the comfort of his own bed. He wondered how Gaz and his dad were doing. He'd told Gaz that he was going away for three weeks, but it felt like he'd been gone for more than that. Dib wondered if there was a way to contact her. Tell her that he might be gone for longer. He didn't know how much longer, but he felt he couldn't return home, now that he had helped Zim steal precious metals from a somewhat peaceful planet. He didn't dare try to attempt conversation, either. He was still too angry for that. 

Suddenly, Zim pulled off his goggles and set them aside, smearing the lens with his bloody fingers.

"Finally." Zim leaned back and wiped his forehead, smearing more blood across his face.

Dib lifted his arms up to inspect. They were tightly bound in a light pink, slightly damp bandage.

"One question. Why's it damp?"

"So it doesn't stick to your wounds and pull them open again when it's time to replace it. It's soaked with a numbing and healing agent to speed up the process. You're welcome."

Dib only huffed again. He finally looked closer at Zim as the alien began to clean the tools and put them away. He didn't look much better than Dib did. He too was caked in blood, and Dib could see nasty burns on his chin, which he assumed was the fault of the laser from the giant gun he'd used, and how close Zim had leaned into it. It hadn't even occurred to him just how hot it might have gotten. The milky pinkish green of his eye didn't seem to be getting any better, either. In fact, Dib would say it was probably worse. The eye was now a much darker shade of pink, almost like a mauve. Not to mention that there was a large gash that Dib hadn't noticed before, making Zim not able to open the eye all the way.

"That doesn't look like it's healing much." Dib pointed out.

Zim looked over and put a hand over his eye, dare Dib say, self-consciously.

"It's not." Was Zim's short answer before he stood. "We'll park on a nearby planet to clean up, refuel, and gather more supplies." Zim hopped back into the pilot seat.

GIR climbed into his master's lap and fell asleep against his chest with only an annoyed sigh from the alien. Dib decided to lie back down and let the dull roar of the ship pull him into a deep sleep. The last thing he heard before he drifted was the eerily familiar voice of another irken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter! :D
> 
> Sorry for the wait, I'm also trying to write ahead. But I hope y'all are enjoying the ride as much as I am!
> 
> And thank you for giving me some of your time, I really do appreciate it. This story and series in general has gotten me through this quarantine bs, and I want to be there for you guys too ^ ^


	3. Planet Bleep-Blorp and the Pains of Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zim and Dib hide out on Bleep-Blorp for a while. Dib is woefully unprepared for what lies ahead of them, and Zim wouldn't have it any other way.

Dib sipped his coffee and looked outside the comically large window that stretched along the entire length of the diner. He felt the chilled air of the building's ac unit brush across his face, making him shiver. It was a welcome breeze, being that everywhere else on this planet was blisteringly hot. Planet Bleep-Blorp was the closest planet to its sun, and the only planet in its small system because of its large size and over twenty moons. Dib looked back and started tapping away at his laptop again.

"Do you ever leave that thing alone?" Came the irritated voice of the small irken sitting across from him.

The only thing that was different about Zim was that he still had a bandage wrapped around his left eye. Not to mention his newfound violently bitter attitude, which Dib honestly found himself getting used to the past few days. He was even starting to crack jokes and use sarcasm again.

"Nah, this thing's my baby." Dib said without looking up.

He could practically hear Zim's grimace. "That's disgusting. How does THAT work? Are you secretly a robot?"

"I might be, but you'll never know."

Zim hummed and sipped at his own beverage. A sickening, tooth-shatteringly sweet drink that looked not unlike some kind of alien milkshake, but much thinner. The cream on top housed small bits of sprinkles and candy. Dib wondered how he was ever able to stomach that kind of thing. All he ever ate and drank was junk, and yet, there wasn't a single pound gained. Dib thought that was completely unfair.

"Who were you talking to last night?" Dib asked, still refusing to make eye contact. Eye contact somehow meant that Zim won.

"What do you mean?"

"I heard a voice coming from your system before I fell asleep."

"What's it to you?" Zim glared.

"Curiosity."

Zim tapped his claws on the table, which Dib couldn't help but look at.

"I was talking to Skoodge."

"Skoodge."

"Yes, SKOODGE. Why, you have a problem with me having allies?" Zim leaned over the table. 

Dib shook his head and sipped his coffee.

"No."

Zim always referred to what few friends he had as 'allies'. He wasn't even sure if 'friend' was a word in the irken language. Zim sat back down in his seat and twirled the straw in his drink, mixing the cream into the bright lime green liquid. The pair sat there quietly. 

They had been here on planet Bleep-Blorp for a few days now. Dib wondered if it was because Zim's eye refused to heal correctly, and he required medical assistance, or if it was because they were fugitives now. And hiding out on some ginormous planet was a fairly smart move. Zim always kept to himself as much as he possibly could, though Dib always hounded him with questions about everything. Like why the planet's inhabitants are slimy, mucus-y blobs with eyes. 

"You think GIR has broken anything in the ship yet?"

"No. He knows what he's doing."

Dib raised an eyebrow and looked down at the irken. "You sure? Last time, he stole five of my socks to set on fire and then he ate the ashes, then threw them back up, then ate them again."

Zim shrugged and sipped his drink.

"Shouldn't have left your socks out."

Dib felt his eye twitch. Zim was normally such a control freak, so why was he allowing his robot to run rampant with little to no discipline? It was like this was his fiftieth child or something. Zim pulled out a tablet and began tapping at it, pushing his barely-touched drink to the side.

"Ah, so you're allowed to use tech, but I can't?" Dib teased.

"Yes. Now shush, human. This is important."

This made Dib lean forward in his seat, intrigued. "Ooh, what is it?"

Zim sniffed and continued tapping. Dib opened his mouth to say something else, but Zim turned the tablet around to show what was on it. It looked like Zim was trying to hack into something.

"I'm erasing our records from the Zorgian database. They'll forget we even exist."

"Huh. Is that what you've been working on the past few days?"

Zim turned the tablet back around. "Yes. But their database is tricky and well protected. And I'm trying to find a way past this barrier."

"Oh! I can actually help with that!"

Zim barked out a laugh.

"YOU. Delete something from a highly secure Zorgian database? That's a hilarious thought."

"I've seen that kind of thing before." Dib took the tablet with surprising ease and started to tap at it. "Yeah, see, it's just a simple firewall. Should be an easy fix."

It only took a couple of minutes before Dib gave the tablet back to Zim, a window reading in irken "file successfully deleted". Zim could only stare at the screen in disbelief, then he looked up at Dib.

"How did you learn to do that?"

"Uh..." Dib rubbed the back of his head. "Hacking into your base a lot. That, and also messing with the skool computers because it was funny."

Zim narrowed his eye. "That was you?"

"Yeah."

"Dib, pulling up nasty pictures of ducks made of ground meat and bandaids is not exactly what people would classify as 'funny'."

"It was to me."

"Only because you're the one that did it and was never caught. I knew it was you, though."

"Well I have to thank you for not saying anything." Dib proudly downed the last of his coffee.

"Anyway, when are we planning to leave? There's only so much mucus I can step in, you know."

Zim snorted. "Soon. But first thing's first. We need a bigger ship."

Dib blinked. "What? Why, what's wrong with the voot?"

"FOOL! NOTHING is wrong with my voot! We just need a bigger ship to be able to house this cannon I'm making."

Dib felt his heart drop. "You're not making it on Earth?" He knew it was a dumb question, Irk was so far from Earth, there'd be no point.

"No!" Zim grinned maniacally. "I simply figured why carry around such a large piece of equipment when I can implement it into the ship itself? All I'd need to do is disable its current weapons system and put in my own! I'm a GENIUS!"

"And... And how do you suppose we go about getting one?" Dib's hand started to shake. 

"The same way we got the metal, stupid."

Dib pressed his back into his seat, waving his hands.

"No way. No FUCKING way am I doing that again."

"Relax, Dib-beast. You don't have to do anything. All I'd need you to do is to fly the voot into the docking bay. It's a simple job."

Dib stood up from the booth, outstretching his arms. He felt anger start to rise in his throat.

"NO, ZIM! I'm not STEALING again! And watching as you ruin countless lives!"

At this point, the entire diner was looking at them. Dib noted how Zim's cool demeanor hasn't budged, even with Dib's outburst. His voice was cold and teasing.

"Careful, Dib. You don't want these innocent people here in this room to pay for your words, do you~?"

Dib looked around, and he slowly sat back down as people continued about their own business.

"You're fucking sick."

Zim sipped his drink nonchalantly. "'Sick' implies there's a cure, Dib-beast. And I don't believe I've ever felt better."

Dib sneered, and Zim pushed his cup to the side again.

"Listen. It's a simple job. And I'll tell you when I need you and where to go. Understand?"

Dib didn't answer.

"Good. Glad to hear we're on the same page." Zim slapped some monies down on the table and hopped off the seat.

Dib stared after the tiny irken until he was out of sight. He felt his fists start to shake, his nails digging deep into his palms. This was so fucked up. He was being dragged along with this stupid plan of Zim's that he wouldn't even talk about. He was being thrown around like a ragdoll into situations he couldn't have possibly prepared for. He didn't even know why he found himself continuing to help him. But it was like he said. Zim needed him, and he needed Zim to get home. And as much as he tried to bury it, he couldn't help the thrill every time they got into danger, or came close to it. However, Dib wanted to make sure that innocent people were not stuck in the cross fire. He got out of the booth and slowly made his way back to the voot.

-X-

Zim's boots squelched in the thick mucus that coated the ground. He lifted a foot to shake it off, only being mildly successful before stepping into the warehouse. There, he was immediately greeted by a friendly-looking clerk. He was tall and thin, towering over the small irken, and his cheerful smile was only somewhat disturbing. His eyes were large, and the irises were wavy and colored red. He was covered head to toe in bright pastels, save for the tall black socks(Zim would consider those more along the lines of 'leggings', actually), and his hair was a coarse, wiry mess of orange and pink. He had long floppy ears like a rabbit, and his skin was a soft lavender, with bright pink pads in the center of each finger and his elbows. He was definitely of a completely different race than the native inhabitants, but no one around seemed to care. His voice was loud and crackly, almost like a human radio.

"Welcome to Bleep-Blorp's home of finest ships and ware! Here we have deals that to ALL, it would snare!"

Zim held his look of disinterest. "Yeah, yeah, look. I'm looking for a ship that will hold a large cannon? Got anything like that lying around?"

The clerk(who Zim learned was named Yala) lead Zim over a long catwalk.

"Ah, if it's large weapons of which you seek, the BS-200 is clean and sleek! A sweet arsenal is what it may house, and to all who dare-" Yala gritted his teeth. "PAIN, it would rouse!"

Zim tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Interesting." He looked the ship up and down.

The entirety of the ship was almost a blinding pearl white. The only thing painted on it was its number in an ugly greenish black. The hull was large and curved, and the midship looked to be most of the way flat with the exception of pods and rectangular rooms. The aft end of the ship looked much like the hull, just smaller. Zim nodded, clearly impressed. It certainly looked like it could take quite a number of hits.

"And you, mighty irken, are in luck! At a mere five thousand monies, the sweetest of deals is struck!"

"Five thousand, huh? I'd say that's a steal."

Yala opened his mouth to speak again, only to be interrupted by two of Zim's PAK legs being shoved down his throat. One of them flew upwards, effectively separating his head from the rest of his jaw. Zim wiped away the golden yellow blood that had sprayed his face.

"I am SO sick of those stupid rhymes." Zim scaled his way up the ship until he was able to reach the door.

In the cockpit, he greedily tapped his fingers together in excitement. He pushed various buttons and pulled a lever until the ship roared to life and crashed through the roof of the warehouse.

-X-

He should just leave without him. He was here with the ship. He could leave now if he wanted. But of course, Zim had made sure he was stuck with GIR. And that GIR made sure that he didn't try anything. Dib sat in the cockpit of the voot, arms crossed, watching as GIR started to gnaw on a piece of metal that Dib thought for a moment that he should probably take away from him.

"How's that taste, eh?" Dib asked coolly.

"LIKE A BEEF BURRITO!"

Dib snorted and looked out at the scenery before him. He had to admit, Bleep-Blorp was a very pretty planet. It was bright and full of various vibrant colors. The tree they were parked under was huge. The trunk was a rich purple, and its leaves were a soft turquoise. The grass was bright green at the base and faded into a light periwinkle. Even the dirt was a deep maroon, and the air always had a subtle scent of peppermint. The sky was a constant golden yellow, and the clouds were colored oranges and pinks. It was like they were in a constant sunset. Dib felt himself relax a bit into the small seat as he took a deep breath. It was a shame he could only be outside for a certain amount of time before he started to feel his skin burn. Otherwise he'd be doing a lot more sunbathing. 

A loud, blaring alarm jolted Dib out of his thoughts. It was a transmission, and Dib could almost hear his heart hit the floor. He just sat staring at the screen before GIR finally climbed into his lap and answered it for him. 

"THERE you are! I need you to- GIR, get out of the way, I'm talking to Dib."

GIR simply moved his head to make Dib more visible. 

"Thank you. Dib, I'm going to be passing over the voot in a couple of minutes, and I need you to fly the voot-" Something made the ship shudder and Zim growl in frustration. "-in order to dock it on this ship! Can you handle that?" 

Dib shook his head. "Zim, I hate this idea. This is awful."

"Well it's what we have, like it or not. Now get the cruiser in the air, or there are going to be a LOT more casualties than necessary." 

With that, Zim ended the call, leaving Dib to look over the buttons and switches on the control panel. It suddenly looked very intimidating. Dib didn't know enough irken to operate the voot. The ship didn't talk to him about everything that was going on, and Dib suddenly missed having that bit of luxury. He gave GIR an uneasy glance, and he only got a silly smile in return. 

"Um… I can't really fly the ship… W-Well, I can steer and stuff, but I just don't know how to get it off the GROUND-" 

Dib was interrupted by the voot suddenly shooting several feet vertically in the air then stopping. He looked down just in time to see GIR take his hands off the console and smile at him again with his tongue sticking out. 

"Um… thanks… good… good robot…" Dib said shakily, taking both sides of the yoke in each hand. 

Dib pushed it forward, the small ship jolting forwards, nearly sending Dib into the windshield. Okay, so steering was extremely sensitive. He pulled it back gently, and the ship went backwards at a much more tolerable pace. He turned it left and then right, sending the ship in the respective direction. He smiled slightly, seeming to be getting a little bit of a hold on the controls. Now to try making it go up and down. The small yoke only seemed to be able to go in the four directions. Dib glanced back down at the panel, and GIR pointed to a series of controls on a screen. Dib tried pressing them experimentally, and it looked like it was a combination of the steering and touchscreen controls that made the ship go up and down. An interesting mechanic, but Dib thought it was mildly inconvenient. But he supposed it made sense being that the ship was completely built from junk. 

Dib jumped at what he assumed to be the proximity alarm, and he looked out to see a huge pearl white ship hurdling towards them. He fumbled a bit with the controls to get out of the way. The large ship roared past them and shook the walls of the voot. Behind it were several smaller ships with extremely loud sirens, and that had a vague resemblance to police cruisers. Dib sighed and put one of his feet against the side of the console to ground himself before shoving the yoke forward, sending the voot rocketing after the large white ship. 

Dib plowed into one of the smaller ships, causing it to run into two others and get knocked completely off course and crash into the maroon dirt. Dib lead a few of the ships away, and GIR started to walk across the console, activating some of the weapons that Dib didn't even know the voot had. He blew up several of the smaller vessels with what looked like homemade rockets and small missiles. Dib couldn't help but feel the satisfaction of seeing his defeated targets. It was like he was in a space battle with Zim again. Except he knew that this time his targets weren't Zim. 

There seemed to be no end to the onslaught of the small ships, and Dib was starting to run out of ammo. 

"GIR, do you have a communicator or something?" 

The little robot took out something that looked like a walkie-talkie and handed it to Dib. 

"Oh, uh… Thanks. That's actually really convenient." Dib pressed a button on the device. "Zim? You there?"

There was a brief pause before a voice came back from the device. 

"Yeah."

"I'm running low on ammo, I need to dock."

Almost immediately, one of the bigger pods opened up on the side of the large ship. 

"Docking bay is open, get your ass up here. But don't you dare scratch my ship."

"No guarantees." Dib handed the device back to GIR. 

Dib gradually made his way to the open pod. Suddenly, the voot shook violently and an alarm sounded. Dib cursed loudly as the ship started to wobble and smoke. He looked down at the small screen and saw that the engine had been damaged. There was a countdown that started on screen. Dib didn't know how long he had, but he assumed that it was a countdown until they inevitably crashed. He looked back out the window. He didn't have that much farther, he might be able to make it. Dib pushed the yoke forward as far as it would go and slid his fingers across the panel to make it soar upwards and towards the open pod. The ship sputtered and struggled to keep up with the orders it was being given. The voot was five feet away. Then it was four, then three, then two, then one. 

Then it suddenly dropped, and Dib lost control. The alarms were blaring loudly in his ears as smoke filled his mouth and lungs. GIR was screaming, but Dib could barely hear him. He was preoccupied with pressing randomly at buttons in a desperate attempt to try and save the ship. Dib made the mistake of looking out the window to see the dirt rapidly coming up to meet them, and his eyes widened with fear. He was just about to put his arms up to pathetically shield himself from the incoming disaster when suddenly the view from the window went white, and he felt the voot being lifted upwards. 

The voot bounced harshly against the hard floor of wherever they'd landed. The windshield popped open, and Dib crawled out, gasping for air. He panted and tried to get a grip on his surroundings. He was in a fairly large rounded room that was gradually starting to fill with smoke from the damaged vessel. So much for not scratching the voot. GIR then suddenly tugged at Dib's arm. 

"We gotsta go!" 

Dib nodded and stood. Right, they still had tons of ships on their tail. The large ship shuddered as it took another hit, nearly knocking Dib off his feet. They exited the room, and GIR lead Dib to a hallway and pointed to the floor. Dib looked down to see what looked like a grate. He pulled it up and exchanged glances with GIR before taking the ladder down to a narrow rectangular room with a large window taking up the farthest wall and a long control panel. Dib hurried up to the panel and looked down. He saw a headset and put it on, pressing a button on the earpiece. Zim's voice startled Dib as he spoke loudly into the headset. 

"Ah, glad to see you finally made it!" 

"Yeah, uh, sorry about your ship."

"Whatever, I'll kick your butt later. We have more pressing matters to deal with right now. You have a panel in front of you. It's the control panel to the ship's primary weapons system. From there, you can take control of several weapons at once."

Dib looked over the buttons as Zim spoke. The language it was in was the one they use on Bleep-Blorp. A language Dib was definitely not familiar with. 

"Okay cool, but I don't know how any of this works."

"There should be a button that displays a series of settings. It will have a little menu icon on it. Tell me when you find it. Hurry, Dib-beast."

As Dib searched frantically for the button, he felt the ship turn, and he held onto the console to keep from sliding. Eventually, he found the little button on the farthest corner of the console and pressed it. There, a screen lowered from the ceiling and displayed a menu. 

"Found it! What do I do now?" 

"You'll see a menu, and the second to last option is the language option-" 

The ship shook again and an alarm started to sound. Man, Dib was tired of that noise. 

"Don't worry about that right now. Pick the language you're most familiar with and start shooting these assholes!" 

Dib quickly skimmed through the list of languages. Of course there was no option for english, so he picked irken instead. The console lit up in a bright red color instead of its previous white. Dib pressed the setting button again to send the screen back up. He looked back at the buttons on the panel and started to read them. There was one option he'd become familiar with in the last few minutes, and he pressed it. The panel changed to a scale. It had a smiley face on one end and the same smiley face but angry and with horns on the other end. Dib settled for setting it in the middle of the scale, and a yoke popped out of the console along with a screen that showed one of the vessels behind them and a sight in the center. Dib managed to line up the ship with the sight and fire. The walls vibrated briefly as a beam was shot out of a large gun somewhere on the ship and the smaller vessel went down in flames. 

"Nice shot, Dib-worm!" Zim called, making Dib feel a sick sense of pride. 

One of the vessels that had escaped Dib's sight then pushed up against the ship, making the whole thing lean to one side. He heard Zim curse through the headset followed by a clicking sound. 

"Zim, what's going on?" There was a brief silence. 

"HI! I'M FLYIN' THE SHIP THING NOW!" screeched GIR proudly. 

"Oh shit. Okay, GIR, thank you."

Dib barely had enough time to look at the screen to shoot down another ship when he noticed something crawl across the sight. He leaned in closer to see Zim using his PAK legs to take out some of the ships. Dib watched as Zim blasted their engines and ripped cords away with his teeth. He broke through the glass windshield and stabbed the pilots multiple times with the long spider legs. At one point, Zim seemed to be having trouble with staying on the top of a ship that was rocking him back and forth. Dib carefully aimed at the ship and fired. The blast sent Zim to a nearby ship which he used to crash into the already damaged one. He landed gracefully back on their own ship and glanced through the window, the spider legs retreating back into the PAK. Not really sure what to do, Dib gave him a thumbs up. Zim rolled his eye and looked back. Only four more vessels left. 

Dib saw Zim talk into some kind of communication device that popped out of the top compartment of his PAK. Almost as soon as the device was returned, it was replaced by the long metal legs again, keeping Zim held down. Suddenly, the entire ship made a quick, hard right turn. The movement made Dib fall to the left, and he instinctively held onto the yoke for support. His finger suddenly slipped and the gun fired multiple shots, sending their remaining tail crashing into and shooting each other. The ship then straightened, but Dib gripped the yoke tight, eyes wide and afraid to let go. Zim had left the window and there was the quiet tapping of the PAK legs as he climbed the walls. Dib tried to slow his breathing and process what had just taken place. Eventually, his grip on the yoke loosened when he saw that there was no one else following. He slowly made his way out of the room and climbed the ladder to the upper deck where he was greeted by the hard glare of his supposed nemesis. 

"You scratched my voot."

"How'd you do that?" 

Zim's glare deepened. "Do what?" 

"How did you know that turning the ship like that was going to work?" 

Zim's expression softened a bit. "Uh, I didn't."

"You-! There was just the slimmest chance of that working, where I was going to hold on to the…the thing and my hand slipping!" Dib kept on ranting as he followed Zim down the hallway. "How'd you- I mean, shit!" He'd be lying if he said that wasn't the coolest thing Zim had ever done. 

"If you're quite finished with your incessant rambling, we have work to do. The ship is damaged, my voot even more so. If we're going to go through with this plan, both must be fixed."

Dib's excited demeanor immediately crashed. 

"Excuse me, 'we'?" A short laugh escaped him. "I never agreed to steal, kill, and wreck planets, Zim."

Zim whirled around. "You agreed to that the moment you stuck your disgusting, smelly nose into this mission. I WAS planning on doing this on my own, but of course you had to interfere."

"Why didn't you just leave without me then? You gave me two hours! You had MORE than enough time to leave!" 

"I knew that you'd be a pain in the ass and just follow me anyway. I'm not stupid, Dib."

Dib knew he was right. He definitely would have followed Zim to wherever he was going. No matter how he looked at it, it was the only thing that played back to him. 

"I'm done." Dib said, barely audible. It was clear that Zim caught it, though. 

"You're done? That's not how this works, Dib. You don't half-ass a mission."

"This is your mission, NOT mine. So yes, Zim. I'm fucking DONE."

Zim grabbed Dib's shirt collar and pulled him down to eye level. Dib could smell the sweet stench of his breath and the subtle metallic scent of the still-open wound. The combination of smells were enough to make him nauseous. Zim's lip curled over his teeth to reveal extremely sharp white teeth adorning his deep purple gums. 

"This is just as much your mission now as it is mine. Like it or not, you're stuck here with me, and it's your fault. You're going to be of assistance here, or you're going to never want to touch space again. Do I make myself clear."

Dib tried his best to look even somewhat resistant, like he wasn't going to take the threats. However, he did seem to do a good enough job. Zim's grip tightened, his claws beginning to tear holes into Dib's shirt as he waited for an answer. 

"FINE. Fucking crystal."

Zim let go of Dib's shirt, and he fixed his collar. 

"We will begin with the repairs to the voot. GIR can take care of the repairs to…"

Dib raised a brow. 

"This ship." Zim said finally. 

Suddenly, a loud, unfamiliar voice sounded over the overhead system. 

"ALERT: INCOMING TRANSMISSION" 

Zim frowned and his antennae perked in confusion and turned to walk down the hallway, Dib close behind. He was lead to a large room with an even larger window, which Dib assumed was the cockpit. There was a large screen that had popped up on the window, distracting from the depths of space Dib hadn't realized they'd gotten into. Zim walked up to the dashboard and looked around. 

"Planet Blorch?" Almost immediately, Zim answered the call. 

Another irken appeared on the screen. He was much wider than Zim, and his face didn't look nearly as menacing. If anything, Dib could only describe the irken as "cute". He looked like a big green marshmallow. 

"Skoodge?" Zim asked in awe, a rainbow of expressions made their way across his face. 

The supposed Skoodge smiled, his cheeks pudgy and adorable. Dib really wanted to squish them. 

"Hey Zim. Long time, no see."

-X-

As much as Skoodge looked sweet and harmless, Dib felt he had to be cautious. He was still an irken, and probably worst of all, he was friends with Zim. An extremely persuasive and influential alien. Dib didn't know how deep their friendship ran, whether they'd met a handful of times or whether they've known each other forever. The way Skoodge gave judging looks and silly comments, however, made Dib think that the latter was the most likely. 

"You have a new partner. That's interesting." Skoodge sang. 

Zim rolled his eye. A common occurrence for him now. Dib thought it was really irritating. 

"Ugh, don't remind me. He's more like a stowaway I can't get rid of." 

Dib offered a wave, and Skoodge surprisingly waved back. His little smile was just too much, and Dib felt himself smiling back. 

"I don't know, he seems friendly."

"He has the intelligence of a Squip-glid."

Skoodge put a hand to his mouth. "Oh my. That's-" He exchanged glances with Dib. "I'm sorry."

Dib felt his face grow hot with embarrassment. He knew Zim was calling him stupid, but he didn't have to say it both behind his back and to his face at the same time. 

"Anyway, Skoodge, why are you calling? You weren't supposed to be finished until tomorrow." 

"Oh! Right! I was calling to let you know that I finished early. And what I found was REALLY interesting."

Dib frowned and made his way next to Zim. He lowered his voice to where they could only hear each other. 

"Wait, what did you ask him to do?" 

"None of your business, it doesn't concern you."

"Zim, you just told me that this mission was just as much mine as yours. If it's important, I think I should know." 

Zim sneered and turned back to the screen. 

"What did you find, Skoodge?" 

A picture popped up next to him and he gestured to it. It looked like some sort of medical sheet. 

"This is the data I pulled from the diagnostic you sent me. It looks like this particular malfunction is classified as an F-061-I-07-D-127."

Zim's antennae perked. "F-061-I-07-D-127? Are you sure?" 

Skoodge nodded. "And the levels are only rising, if only just by a little bit. No malfunction has ever seen these numbers. They're off the charts." 

Dib leaned against the console, almost insulted for being left out of a seemingly interesting conversation. 

"Excuse me, but what the hell is this?"

"Oh, sorry. I almost forgot. Squip-glid brain." Skoodge cleared his throat. "F-061-I-07-D-127 is the malfunction categorization of a standard irken PAK."

Dib stared at the screen, still clearly lost. 

"Okay?" 

Skoodge continued. "They're the levels of which the PAK is able to operate, and how it affects the PAK's organic shell. Which would be me or Zim as you see us. 

"The 'F' would be the 'Ferocity' level. It tells, as you probably guessed, the ferocity of a normal irken. It does vary, but the highest recorded level is 28 for males and 30 for females. Even 30 is considered high."

"Jesus, and that's doubled." 

"Precisely my concern. Irken measure in some pretty condensed numbers, which is why it doesn't LOOK like a big deal. Moving on. 

"The 'I' would be the 'Intensity' level. It tells the irkens ability to stay focused. The higher the number, the more disoriented the irken becomes. Alternatively, the lower the number, the slower their ability to process information. Whether it be verbal or physical stimuli. The normal intensity level is a 5."

Dib frowned at the console, trying to make sense of the information he was being given. He glanced at Zim who sat in the pilot seat, completely uninterested. 

"What does the 'D' stand for?" 

"The 'D' is the 'Defective' level, or how much damage the malfunction can do to the PAK or to the irken that hosts it. In this case, 127 is the highest level I've ever seen in a defective case. And I've seen a lot. Whoever this is, I would say they'd need medical assistance as soon as possible."

Dib's frown deepened, the last sentence echoing in his mind. 

"Wait, you don't even know who's PAK this belongs to?" 

Skoodge shrugged. "I wasn't given a name. I was told this was an old diagnostic that was probably out of date. And it WAS, because the numbers have only risen."

"Wouldn't a name come with the PAK the diagnostic was run through?" 

"Not if it was modified. Whoever it was, they didn't want to be known. Which is fair, having a 'Defective' level itself gets you booted from the irken military if you're not destroyed for it first. It's pretty embarrassing."

Dib sat in the co-pilot seat and leaned back. He crossed his arms over his chest as he began to think. Zim immediately stood up as he sat down. Zim slapped his hands on the dashboard, startling Skoodge. 

"WELL, if that little conversation is finished, then let's move on."

"Right. What do you need?" 

"I'm going to need some extra hands with the construction of this weapon. And being that you're the only one I can rely on, I figured I'd ask for your assistance."

Skoodge seemed taken slightly aback. 

"Oh geez, Zim, I don't know. You know engineering isn't one of my strong points. That's your thing."

"Yes, yes, I know, I'm amazingly skilled. But you're also the only other person I know who has access to tools and knowledge of Zorgian metals."

GIR handed Zim the satchel. Dib stared in utter confusion at the robot. He didn't even realize GIR had left and come back. 

"Zorgian metals?" Skoodge's antennae perked again. "How'd you get those? And so many…!" 

"We stole 'em." Dib blurted. 

Skoodge's shoulders sank. "Of course you did. Well, I don't know how much help I can be, but I can do my best."

Zim smiled. The first genuine smile Dib thought he'd ever seen. 

"Excellent! I'll swing by Blorch and we can get you here."

"Oh, um, I don't know about that. See, Blorch-" 

"Is home to the slaughtering rat people, yes yes yes."

"Well, they're really-" 

"Dangerous and could bite my head off? I've heard the tales, yes, Skoodge. Don't worry, we'll be fine."

"Zim, I REALLY don't think-" 

"SKOODGE. Trust me. We'll be fine. Over and out." Zim pressed a button to end their call. 

Dib leaned forward. "Shouldn't you have listened to his warnings? They sounded important."

Zim waved his hand. "He's just a worry wart. Blorch isn't that bad."

Dib narrowed his eyes at him. "And how many times have you been to Blorch?" 

"Twice."

"And how long has Skoodge been on Blorch?" 

"Almost as long as I've been on Earth, I would think." 

"So you don't think Blorch is that bad because you were only there twice. Yet someone who's been there for about six years gives you a clear warning to back off, and you decide to completely disregard what he was saying."

Zim was silent for a while. He fidgeted with the hem of his tunic and refused eye contact. His antennae twitched independently, which Dib had come to know that that meant he was thinking hard about something. 

"I have to say, I don't think that was the world's smartest decision." Dib couldn't help the words that fell from his mouth. He was always so critical of the alien anyway, so they came out faster than he could fully process what it was he was saying. 

Zim shot him a nasty look. "I'm not stupid."

Dib frowned. "I didn't say you were. I just said the decision you made wasn't smart. I didn't say you were stupid. Jeez, Zim, why do you always think I think you're stupid?" 

Zim silently turned to look out the window, putting his hands behind his back. 

"The construction of the cannon cannot wait, Dib. Once we're done with the necessary repairs to this ship and the voot, we will begin immediately."

"What about Skoodge's help?" 

"He can pitch in whenever he gets here. As of right now, repairs are of the utmost importance." Zim put the satchel in a drawer Dib didn't know existed in the console. 

Zim turned back to Dib, a slightly softer look on his face. 

"What are you waiting for? Get to it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third chapter! ^ ^
> 
> This chapter gave me the most issues, and was probably one of the harder ones to write. I'm still not a hundred percent happy with it, but it's enough to keep the story going, and that's what matters. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys are enjoying so far, and the next chapter is much better, I promise! 😅


	4. The Joys of Tinkering and Deadly Toys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skoodge is finally here to help! Things are going fairly well(as much as they can), and Zim is happy with his friend's presence. However, little did Skoodge know that there was a horrifying twist to his much-anticipated visit.

Dib had never been terribly familiar with the construction of the voot cruiser. However, for the past month, it had sort of become his world. With a little bit of guidance from Zim, Dib had learned almost all of the ins and outs of the ship. He learned how to read most of the controls and the way the engines were put together. He learned why the wings were shaped the way they were and how the windshield wasn't actually glass, but some sort of soft plastic-y material that can bend and almost liquify, only to make itself whole again with the toughness of plexiglass. 

Dib had grown increasingly more fascinated by the small ship, and Zim had no problems with telling him all about how he made it himself. How he'd built it exclusively from scraps and trash. However, when asked why, Zim had gone quiet and left. Dib had then decided that it was useless to ask him about why he did the things he did, so eventually he just stopped asking. 

When the voot was finished and in working order, the repairs on the bigger ship were made, and done even faster. 

"We need to give this ship a name." Dib said as he wiped his forehead, smearing grease. "We can't just keep calling it 'the bigger ship'."

Zim looked up at him as he reached for the tool Dib was holding. Zim's eye had healed a little as they were making repairs, and he didn't need the bandage anymore. Now it was just a nasty jagged scar that ran over his eye, which meant that Zim still wasn't able to fully open it. The burns on his chin were long gone, which Dib was thankful for. He wasn't sure how long he could keep looking at those. 

"Why not? That's what it is."

"Well, does the voot have a class?" Dib handed him the tool. "Or did you just call it a 'voot'?" 

"'Voot' was an old cruiser class. Discontinued when it was replaced by the Schook cruiser. It was just the easiest one to make with the materials that I had available to me."

"Either way, this ship needs a name."

"Okay, let's call it 'The Zim'".

Dib snorted. "Uh, yeah no. How about… The Mothman?" 

"There's already a ship called that on Meekrob."

"How would you know?" 

"I have my sources." Zim stood and picked up the toolbox. "Dib, as much as I'd like to come up with names for this hunk of inanimate metal, we have more important things to do."

"Right." Dib followed Zim as he replaced the tools into their respective area. 

"So how exactly is this going to work?" 

"Well, first, I'll have to disable and remove the largest cannon on this ship. Simple, it's the one on top. Then, I'll build MY cannon in its place."

"How do you expect to do that? The Zorgian metals are liquid" 

Zim clicked his tongue against his teeth. "Foolish earth boy. It hardens with heat. I thought that was obvious."

"Clearly not."

Zim only chuckled and the pair made their way back to the cockpit. Zim took the satchel out of its compartment in the console and looked over a few of the vials. He put the bag over his shoulder and started to press buttons on the console. Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded overhead. 

"WEAPON 237 DISABLED."

"You inputted your computer into the ship?" Dib asked. 

"Of course. That last voice was just annoying."

Dib had to admit, it was kind of nice hearing something that familiar again. It reminded Dib of infiltrating Zim's home base and getting caught by the security system. Dib had barely noticed that Zim walked past him. 

"Hey, whatever happened to Skoodge helping out?" 

"Blorch is quite far from where we are, Dib-beast. It'll take him a minute."

Dib was thankful that they ended up not going to Blorch after all. Zim actually listened to him for once and requested that Skoodge come to them, to which he'd happily complied. Dib followed Zim into the airlock where he donned the homemade space suit that Zim had made and secured the tethering line. Once his helmet was properly fitted, he gave Zim a thumbs up, earning him another eye roll and a little groan. Dib found it slightly strange that the only things Zim needed to go into space with was his gravity boots, chest piece, gloves, and the strange bubble helmet that seemed to vanish as quickly as it came, giving the appearance of not wearing a helmet at all. 

Once the door was open, the pair made their way onto the top of the ship to the disabled cannon. Zim passed Dib a few tools, and they got to work on removing the weapon. They chatted off and on as they worked. Dib would talk about the last 'Mysterious Mysteries' episode he remembered seeing, and Zim would listen. Zim would talk about some of the larger creatures in space, and Dib would listen. There would occasionally be questions of what went where and what tool was for what, but they continued to chat about whatever came to mind. 

Dib had noticed that Zim had grown more used to Dib's company over the past month, and he'd become slightly less angry about the things that Dib said or did. He was still extremely hot-headed, but he didn't seem to direct his anger onto Dib much anymore. And in turn, Dib had learned to stay out of Zim's way when he was having one of his episodes. Sometimes they were just angry rants to himself, and sometimes things would get broken. 

Dib noticed Zim getting more angry with every little thing that didn't go as he intended. Such as they were making repairs and Zim had touched something that shocked him. The shock sent Zim into a rage that had him kicking over tool boxes and pulling at his antennae. Though, he'd cool down a minute or two later and replace the tools he'd kicked over and continue repairs like nothing happened. If it wasn't anything spontaneous like a shock, Dib found that he had learned when one of Zim's outbursts was coming. His antennae would twitch rapidly a certain amount of times and then suddenly flatten. He also learned to deal with Zim's tantrums and wait until he was done. Zim still refused to talk about anything that was bothering him, and Dib stopped trying to figure it out when it was made clear that those short conversations always went nowhere. 

"Hey, while we're out here, I really think we should come up with a name for this ship."

Zim groaned again. "Why waste the oxygen?" 

"Well what are we going to tell Skoodge when he gets here? 'Welcome to the bigger ship'? That'd be really lame." 

Dib could practically hear Zim roll his eyes as he sighed. It made him wonder just where Zim picked up the eye roll habit. It made him wonder just how much he rolls his own eyes. 

"I suppose you have something stupid in mind?"

"I wouldn't say that. I just thought that since it was a large and white ship, something like The Firefly or Snowbeast would be cool."

"Snowbeast? Really?" Zim chuckled. 

"I don't hear you coming up with any better ideas."

"I'm telling you, The Zim is a great name!" 

"We are not naming it The Zim!" 

The pair continued to put up and shoot down each other's name suggestions for what felt like hours. Eventually, though, they both agreed that The Space Ghost was the least offensive of all the choices. Even though they both knew that it was ironically the least sneaky and ghost-like ship. Huge and stark white against the deep dark matter of space. They chuckled briefly about it. Dib had then brought up that the sheer size of the ship wasn't exactly made for just three or four people, but for a crew of at least twenty. 

"So? Who else were you planning on bringing along? Your sister?" 

Dib felt a small pang in his chest at the mention of his sister. He'd kept meaning to talk to Gaz about his situation, but Zim always kept him on his toes, leaving him too tired for anything else that night. Dib wondered if she even cared that he was gone for way longer than the three weeks he'd told her about. Dib felt himself lower the tool he was holding and he looked down sadly at it. He wondered if his dad cared, or if he even knew he was gone. He wondered if anyone at skool noticed he was absent from class everyday. Or even-

"Hey! Why'd you go quiet? You better not be slacking over there, or I'll have to smack you again."

"Right." Dib's voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. 

Dib began to undo the last bolt, and then the weapon was free from the ship. Dib saw Zim squeeze his way under the loose cannon and give it a hard push out of the now empty crevice it used to sit in. He watched as the weapon started to float away, never to be seen again. Well, not by them anyway. 

"Tell me again why we decided to get rid of that instead of keep it?" 

"There's no place for it on board. It would just take up space and collect dust. Not to mention weigh us down if we put in under the artificial gravity. At least this way, someone could stumble upon it and scavenge it for parts or take the whole thing. Either way, it's not our problem anymore."

Dib hummed in response and found himself unable to tear his eyes away from the fleeing weapon, watching the nearby star's light gleaming off of its still brand-new untouched polish. He didn't notice Zim coming up to sit next to him and stare after it with him. He could hear the faint clinks of the vials moving around in the satchel. The pair sat there as the weapon went farther and farther away, until it became indistinguishable from the rest of the stars. 

"I feel like we just cut Space Ghost's hair or something."

He heard the high-pitched wheezy laugh from Zim and then the clunks of his gravity boots as he stood. 

"She'll thank us later. You should go inside. Your oxygen is getting low."

Dib looked down at the gauge on his wrist and sure enough, it was down to just under mid-yellow. He stood and nodded before he pulled himself back to the airlock with his tether line. 

-X-

Once Dib was safe inside the airlock and he could shed his space suit, he set his oxygen tank against the wall to be refilled later. He looked at his watch. He hadn't changed the time since he'd left Earth, and so far it hadn't messed with his internal clock either. Dib figured he had a little bit of time before Zim came back, so he exited the airlock and decided to finally contact Gaz. Dib entered his quarters to see GIR chewing on a pair of his socks. He sighed heavily, pinching his nose bridge. 

"GIR, what have I told you about the socks?" 

GIR looked innocently from the socks to Dib, then back again. 

"That they're for feet, not mouths?" GIR's voice muffled around the socks. 

"Exactly. And what are you using them for?" 

GIR spit the socks out. 

"Good." Dib reached for his bag and pulled out a small package of cookies they'd picked up on their last refuel trip. He handed a cookie to GIR who happily took it and shoved it in his mouth. 

Dib put the package back in his bag and set it back on its high shelf. He took the now damp pair of socks and put it in the bin to be washed later. He pulled his laptop out of its spot in his dresser and sat down with it on his bed. GIR climbed into his lap as he took a deep breath and sent Gaz a message. 

"Hey."

There came almost an immediate reply. 

"Holy shit."

Suddenly, a window popped up that said Gaz wanted to video chat. Dib quickly ran a hand through his hair to make himself seem like he was slightly less of a mess than he knew he was, and accepted the call. Gaz on screen looked livid. 

"Where the HELL have you been? Dad's been tearing the city apart looking for you!" 

Dib felt his shoulders sink. "Nice to see you too, Gaz."

"Don't give me that. WHERE the hell have you been? You said THREE weeks."

"I know what I said, Gaz. I don't know what to tell you except I'm sorry."

"Tell me. Everything." Gaz said through gritted teeth. 

So he did. Dib told her everything that happened and had spared no details. He talked about Zim going off the rails and stealing from other planets. He told her of the horrific carnage of Zorg(he showed his scars as proof), the huge ship they'd jacked from Bleep-Blorp. He told her about Zim's projects and his temper tantrums. How Zim managed to keep him on his feet all the time, constantly pulling him away from any time he stopped to so much as take a breath. And Gaz sat there, nodding, letting her big-headed brother rant until he was close to tears. 

"I just…" Dib said finally. "I don't know what to think anymore. The violence has just become part of every day, and… I hate to say it, but I've become used to it, Gaz. And it's not like the sibling bullying you do, I… I'm beginning to think that there might be something legitimately wrong with him. He's not himself, he's not right." Dib put his hands over his face and sighed. 

There was a long silence before either of them said anything. 

"Let me put it this way, Dib. You've known Zim for how long?" 

Dib thought. "About six years."

"And in that time, has he ever shown that kind of behavior before?"

"Um… If you count the organ stealing and him nonchalantly destroying a peaceful sentient robot, and experimenting on… he…" Gaz let him trail off as Dib began to realize. 

"All those things. You've known each other for six years, and yet I'm willing to bet that you never really knew him at all."

Dib hated to admit that she was right. He really had no idea what kinds of things Zim was capable of until they started this mission together. Dib started to chew his nails. 

"Dib, I think it's probably time you came home."

"I can't do that, Gaz. There are countless lives in danger if Zim is left to his own devices."

"And you really think you're going to be able to control him? Especially if he's getting that bad?" 

Dib shook his head. "I don't have a choice."

"There's always a choice."

Dib frowned and looked away. He grinded his teeth in thought, a bad habit he'd picked up when he was in elementary skool. 

"Look, Dib. I'm not exactly in a position to be telling you what to do. You're miles and miles away from Earth, and I don't know where you are nor do I have a way to get to you. Do whatever you think you have to, but for the love of everything holy, come back with your shield or on it."

Dib nodded, a small smile on his face. "Thanks, Gaz. I will. And I'm sorry for not being able to talk to you."

"You're talking to me now." Gaz sighed. "I guess I can tell dad that you're alive and somewhat well."

"I'd appreciate it."

"It won't stop him from worrying, though. But maybe he'll ease up on tearing up the pavement to see if you were buried somewhere."

Dib chuckled, and Gaz shook her head. 

"That man is crazy. But you know. Anyway, I wish I could talk longer, but I have a really important assignment that I need to work on. Glad to see you're not dead and call again whenever you get a chance, you hear?" 

"Loud and clear, my scary sister."

Gaz nodded and hung up. Dib closed his laptop and leaned against the wall. He'd really needed that. To finally have someone to voice his concerns to and talk through them. It was one of the things Gaz was really good at when she wasn't busy pummeling him. He looked down at GIR who was passed out on his lap. 

He gently moved the robot onto the mattress so he could get up and put his computer away. Dib heard sudden taps outside his door that quickly made their way down the hallway. Curious, he opened his door and looked around, but there was no one to be seen. Dib took a breath and went to the cockpit to see if Zim had made it back yet. 

-X-

Zim turned in the pilot seat. 

"Finally! There you are. Where the hell were you?" 

Dib wondered if he should tell Zim about his conversation with Gaz. It was about him after all. 

"Bathroom."

Zim grimaced. "Long bathroom trip."

"I forgot I was lactose intolerant, give me a break."

Dib sat in the co-pilot seat and looked out the window. 

"I thought you were going to work on the cannon."

Zim hummed. "I have to wait for Skoodge. He'll be here soon."

"You can't start on it yourself?" 

Zim only shook his head in response and leaned over the console. He pushed a few buttons and turned the ship a few degrees to the right, accelerating just a bit. Dib frowned. 

"What are you doing?" 

"Meeting Skoodge halfway." Zim looked to Dib. "Got a problem?"

Dib sat back and crossed his arms. He did wonder how Skoodge was going to handle Zim. The construction of the cannon was going to take forever, meaning that Skoodge would have to be here for a while. He already seemed to know how to handle Zim pretty well, but Dib was still cautious. He knew Skoodge was perfectly capable of defending himself if the need were to arise, but that didn't stop the little voice in his head that crept in and whispered "what if?". 

"How do you know Skoodge?" Dib asked the question almost accusingly. 

"We went through training and the irken military academy together."

"So you're close?" 

"You could say that. Let's just say he is to me like your sister is to you."

"I thought irkens didn't have siblings."

"We don't. I meant relationship wise." 

"Right."

"We just haven't talked in a while. The last time we saw each other in person was the great assigning for operation impending doom two. He was invited and I…" Zim glared daggers at some unlucky star they passed. "I wasn't."

Dib looked over. It was the first time Zim had ever mentioned anything about his past. Not just during this mission, but also in Dib's memory. Dib was silent, waiting for him to continue, but he didn't. Instead, he watched as Zim literally bit his tongue and continued to stare into actual space. Dib knew enough about Zim to know that he was berating himself for giving out a drop of sensitive information. And that if he were to draw attention to it, it would only succeed in making the alien angrier at himself. 

Dib's train of thought was cut short by the distracting sudden ticking of Zim's PAK. Confused, he continued to listen. The ticking got louder until there was finally a loud snap, which made Zim jolt in his seat and bite his tongue harder to the point where it started to bleed. Zim quickly wiped away the blood that made its way past his lips. 

"...What the hell was that?" 

Zim stayed silent. 

"Zim. WHAT the HELL was that?" 

Dib still got no reply, only making him more worried and confused. He opened his mouth to ask again, but was again interrupted by a small ship that passed the windshield. It had a vague resemblance to the voot, but more sleek and sharp with many more jagged edges and right angles. It was confusing to look at and therefore kind of intimidating. 

"He's here." Zim gestured to the side of the ship, and it vanished in the direction Zim was pointing to. 

"Why does his ship look like that?" 

"How on Irk do I know? Ask him yourself." Zim hopped out of his seat and made his way across the room. There was a very small limp in his step. If Dib had blinked, he'd have missed it. 

Dib followed Zim to the second docking bay, and they were greeted by a very small irken standing out in the hallway. Zim stood about a foot or two over him, which looked really strange to someone who always thought no irken could get smaller than Zim. However, Zim had grown, the top of his head coming up to Dib's belly button. Yet somehow he was still considered extremely short to his kind. Skoodge wore the same invader uniform as Zim, but his were a bit dirtier, and looked like they'd seen a lot more work and wear. However, that little smile was unmistakable from the irken they'd talked to only a month ago. 

"It's nice to finally see you again, Skoodge. You seem to have gotten smaller since the last time I saw you." Zim said with a smile. 

"Wish I could say the same, and also frick you." Skoodge teased, earning him a playful shove from Zim. 

"Welcome to The Space Ghost." Dib greeted, instinctively offering a hand shake. 

"The Space Ghost, huh?" Skoodge chuckled. "That's cute." He looked oddly at Dib's extended hand before he quickly grabbed his finger and let go. 

"It was his idea." Zim thumbed in Dib's direction. 

"You agreed to it." 

"I like it. It's ironic. Oh! Before I forget, Zim, I brought you something."

Zim's antennae perked immediately as Skoodge went back to his ship and came back with some folded up, soft pink cloth and handed it to him. Zim exchanged confused glances with Dib before he unfolded it. It looked like a long cape with a high collar. Zim's eyes widened(well, one of them did), and he looked back at Skoodge. 

"I figured since you were pretty much on your own, you'd need something to show your independence."

Zim put the cape on as Skoodge talked. It had a high collar that stopped at the bottom of his chin, tight, but still leaving plenty of room for his neck and head, and the front portion went down to just under his ribs and looked like some kind of banner. The cape in the back went down to his ankles and the bottom looked like it had been ripped. 

"It was uh, it was actually too long, so I tore some of it off. I hope it didn't ruin it." Skoodge picked off imaginary dirt from his uniform. 

"It's perfect. Thank you, Skoodge. Now I feel like an ass, I didn't get you anything."

Skoodge waved his hand. "Pfft. Please. You're giving me a job. Four years on conquered Blorch left me with jack squat to do. I'm just thankful that I can finally be useful for a while."

Zim twirled, his new cape whipping around his ankles. Dib had a feeling that he should be getting used to Zim doing that, too. 

"Well? Let's get started." 

-X-

Dib thought that Zim's directions were both really easy and extremely difficult to follow. He'd explain something in a simple enough way that Dib could understand. Yet when he'd ask Zim if it was done correctly, he'd be yelled at by the small irken for not following instructions. Even though they were the most minor of minor mistakes. But according to Zim, they were detrimental to the cannon's design. Skoodge had tried to tell both Zim and Dib that they weren't actually that big of a deal, but Zim insisted that they were. 

Dib had then found that Skoodge was the most patient irken he'd ever met. He was able to take the brunt of Zim's episodes easily and managed to calm him down quicker. He was also very gentle around him whenever his PAK clicked and snapped, which Dib later learned was excruciatingly painful. Though he was never told what it was that was making it do that. 

Dib chatted with Skoodge whenever he was able, and, to his surprise, Skoodge was super easy to talk to. Dib found himself telling him all kinds of things that he swore he'd never tell anyone. He told Skoodge about his sad attempts at flirting and his experiments that turned into embarrassing stories. In turn, Skoodge shared his own funny and embarrassing stories about his time in the academy and while conquering Blorch. Dib told Skoodge about his family and the puppy they used to have. Skoodge shared tips and tricks about his seemingly endless medical knowledge. Turns out, Skoodge was planning on being reencoded as a medical drone when he returned to Irk. When asked why, Dib only received a shrug. 

"I just find it more interesting than invasion. I mean, don't get me wrong, conquering is fun and all, but I just find medicine to be much more interesting."

It was one day, though, that Dib was witness to just how quickly Skoodge responded to medical emergencies. While the four were working on updating the control panel to recognize the new cannon, there had been an issue with the wiring, which caused a large fire to explode from the console. While Dib and GIR worked tirelessly to prevent the fire from spreading and damaging any of the other controls, Skoodge dragged away a screaming Zim.

The fire had been hot enough to burn Zim's hands through his gloves and it singed his left antenna, leaving the remaining half mangled and barely functional. He also had nasty burns on his face and body, but Skoodge had insisted those would heal much faster. The next few days as Zim was supposed to be recovering, he kept trying to assist with the construction. Skoodge eventually had to lock him in his quarters to get him to stay in one place. Zim had thrown a huge tantrum about it, throwing things, and making threats. Dib kept wondering if he should let him out, but Skoodge insisted that he would be fine. And he was, he quieted down after a few days, and Skoodge was finally able to enter his room and treat his injuries which were made slightly worse by Zim throwing things and banging on the door. 

Once Zim had recovered enough to be able to help again, Dib had noticed a drastic change in his behavior. He was quiet and he stared into space a lot more. The mangled antenna would twitch once or twice while the other one was almost constantly in the air, working double time to pick up sounds and vibrations. It became clear that Zim was now partially deaf, and Dib had grown used to repeating himself two or even three times as Zim tried to get used to his new situation. 

Dib noticed that Zim didn't feel much in his hands anymore either. The fire had done a great deal of deep nerve damage that was going to take ages to fix. He'd grab or touch something hot or sharp with little to no reaction, something that deeply disturbed Dib. He'd also end up either gripping something too tight and having it break, or he wouldn't hold it tight enough and he'd drop it, there being very little in between. Dib had tried to help him develop that kind of muscle memory by having Zim squeeze the palm of his hand and telling him when he grabbed too hard. Zim seemed to lose interest in the exercise after a while, and refused whenever Dib suggested they do it. As a result, Zim continued to let things literally slip through his fingers and fall on his toes. Dib knew every little slip up made him angry, but Zim had fewer and fewer outbursts, which worried Dib even more. 

-X-

Another month and a half went by afterwards with little to no breaks in construction, and the cannon was finally nearing completion. Dib sat at a table and sipped his coffee. He sat across from Skoodge and Zim who quietly ate their sandwiches. It was all quiet except for GIR's loud smacking. Zim seemed to finally be adapting to his hearing impairment and figuring out how to use his hands again. Zim's antenna whirled around at an almost complete one eighty. 

"I'm going to blow up Irk's star." Zim blurted around his sandwich. 

The sudden statement made Dib start choking on his coffee, and Skoodge froze mid-chew. It made Dib realize that the entire time Skoodge had been on board, he hadn't once asked Zim what the cannon was for. He was just happy to be included and help his friend out. It made Dib's heart sink to the pit of his stomach, and he suddenly felt nauseous. 

Skoodge let out a nervous chuckle. "Uh, you're not serious, are you?" 

Zim offered no emotional reaction, other than slight disgust because he preferred hot sauce in his sandwich and not the regular sweet sauce. 

"Zim, please tell me you're not serious."

Zim hopped off his seat and threw away the rest of his half-eaten food. He turned to the three of them and put his hands on his hips, shrugging. 

"I just thought you should know."

"Zim, this is not fucking funny, TELL me you're joking."

"He's not." Dib looked down into his cup. He felt pathetic. 

Skoodge stared in disbelief at the both of them. 

"I can't believe what I'm hearing. WHY? Why on IRK do you think that this is a good idea?!" 

Dib leaned back further into his seat in the hopes that it would make him invisible. It didn't, and Skooge kept looking at him for an answer. And it hurt more that Dib knew he couldn't give him an answer because he was just as in the dark as Skoodge was. Except for that he knew about the plan before Skoodge did. 

"Zim, do you even know what would happen if you did that? Irk would be destroyed. Millions of lives wasted. Years of technological advancement gone. The Control Brains? Destroyed. The remaining Irkens living off planet would be lost. Aimless without proper leadership, and they'd drive themselves into madness. Is that really what you want?"

Zim simply stared right through Skoodge as he spoke, like he wasn't even listening. Skoodge looked to Dib, a desperate look on his face. 

"And you knew about it. You let me help you knowing that my home would be in imminent danger."

Dib did his best to avoid eye contact. He felt like a dog who had just peed on his owner's expensive new rug and is now getting scolded for it. 

"I can't believe you two. All this time I tried to be generous, and you couldn't have even bothered to let me in on something that important." Skoodge never raised his voice, which somehow made this worse. 

"No one asked for your generosity." Zim said coldly. 

"YOU asked, Zim. Don't play dumb." 

"I didn't think you'd actually agree. You didn't have to."

"Then why did you ask to begin with? You were perfectly capable of handling this on your own."

"Because-!" Zim clenched his fists and looked away. "Because I wasn't actually confident in my abilities. I was going to do it with or without your help, but I figured I'd ask first."

"Zim, I'm sorry you didn't feel confident, and I'm honestly happy that you reached out for help. But I mean, my Tallest, this is serious. This is my home we're talking about. YOUR home."

Zim's head turned so fast, Dib was afraid he was going to break his neck. 

"Irk is NOT my home. Not anymore."

"That may be so, but it's mine as well as millions. Think about it, Zim. With Irk gone and everyone knowing who was responsible, you'd have thousands of angry irkens constantly hunting you down for the rest of your life."

"Let them." Zim sneered and clenched his fists tighter. He didn't know how much tighter, but his hands started to shake from the pressure. 

Skoodge stared at Zim in disbelief. Like he honestly wasn't expecting the irken before him to be capable of such mass murder. "I don't believe it… It was you, wasn't it…?" He shook his head and made his way out the door. 

Zim let Skoodge shoulder him as he walked past, muttering the small phrase again and again until he wasn't able to hear him anymore. Zim, Dib, and GIR sat silently in the kitchen, neither of them wanting to say a word. Not even GIR. Even he knew the gravity of the situation. In the deafening silence, they could hear the distant hiss and roar as Skoodge left out of the docking bay. 

"He's going to tell people what you're planning." Dib said finally. His throat was suddenly dry, but he didn't dare touch his coffee again. 

"Good. The smart ones will leave. This doesn't change anything."

Dib frowned and looked over at the irken. "What the hell do you mean this doesn't change anything? Did you hear a word he said?" 

"I heard." He fixed Dib with a cold look. "I just don't care."

Dib felt his stomach flip. How DARE he? Although he knew exactly why he dared. He was irken. His sole purpose was to destroy, kill, and conquer. It was something that he loved to do as much as Dib hated it. But Dib had met plenty of other irkens to know that Zim was the only one who really operated at the most extreme lengths. Even Tak hadn't been as blood-thirsty. Sure she was certainly a much better invader than Zim could have ever hoped to be, even though based on her uniform, she wasn't even an invader. But that was beside the point. She just wanted to make a statement to their leaders, not conquer. Even though that would have been a plus. 

Dib watched as Zim left the kitchen, and Dib felt himself leap out of his seat to follow. He grabbed Zim's wrist to stop him, earning him another cold look of clear disdain. 

"Where do you think you're going?" 

"Where do you think? I said this changes nothing. The mission is still underway." Zim tried to twist his arm out of Dib's iron grip. 

"The hell it is. I can't let you go through with this. Too many lives are at stake, including yours."

"You've let me so far. What difference does it make now?" 

It was true. He'd let this whole charade go on for far too long, and he knew it. Dib knew that he would be equally responsible for Irk's destruction if this plan succeeded. If he was being honest, he didn't even really think about it while they were working. He was always too focused on fixing whatever mistakes he had made and getting it right. Zim always had a way of diverting his attention away from the repercussions that this weapon would produce. It was like Zim was in his head again, constantly reading his mind and steering him in the direction he wanted without Dib noticing. And for the past couple of months for that matter, Dib found himself at Zim's every beck and call. He had had him totally under his thumb, hook, line, and sinker. Zim was truly a nasty, manipulative creature, and Dib hated him for it. He hadn't even realized that his grip had loosened enough for Zim to finally be able to twist free. 

Zim gave him another look of contempt before storming off, his cape fluttering behind him as he walked. Dib couldn't help but stare after him as he rounded the corner. He didn't know what to think. He hated this plan, he hated it almost as much as he hated Zim. He felt so horrible for betraying the only person that could have gotten him away from such a vile beast. Yet, he also knew that he couldn't leave. Dib felt he had a sworn duty to protect those who didn't even know what was coming. He wasn't exactly fond of the Irken Empire or what it did, but there were children on Irk. Smeets. Babies. Irkens who haven't even started to live their lives yet. And the fact that Zim was so determined and willing to kill them made Dib sick to his stomach. He knew that even if he were to stop Zim, the Irkens wouldn't be grateful, just like the people on Earth weren't. But his need to protect was stronger than his desire to prove everything to everyone. 

Yet what could he do? He was stuck millions of miles away from Earth in the vast depths of space, and his only way of escape was gone. He couldn't find it in himself to ask Gaz for help for the fear of putting her in harm's way. The only way to protect anyone was to keep an eye on the problem itself. Although that problem seemed to be derailing rather quickly, and Dib was beginning to have a hard time keeping up with the pace. He decided that if he were to refuse help with construction, then it would delay the process if just for a little bit. 

Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case. 

The cannon was complete that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter four is here! :D
> 
> I think this one has to be one of my favorite chapters so far mainly because it was just so damn fun to write.
> 
> I hope you guys are enjoying so far, and chapter five will be out soon! 😘
> 
> Also, I made a reference to Vort Dogs: A Love Story by andystarr. Can you spot it? 😏 
> 
> P.S. If you haven't read Vort Dogs, you should. It's an extremely well written fanfic and it's easily one of my favorites! One of the best I've read in a very long time.


	5. Horrific Failures and Plans Rewritten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cannon is finally complete, and now it's time to test it. Zim and Dib have some interesting conversation, and they decide to travel somewhere dangerous.

Zim tapped his claws rhythmically against the dashboard. He read the words "STABLE" over and over again, as if he kept forgetting what it said. The cannon was complete. It was in stable condition. He should be happy. Months of hard work and personal injury had finally paid off, and here he was, tapping on the screen and feeling angry. It wasn't his normal anger, though. He didn't feel like breaking anything or yelling. He was just mad. At what, he wasn't sure. Was he even mad at anyone? Was he mad because Dib had refused to continue construction? Surprisingly, he wasn't. He genuinely didn't care about the Dib refusing. If anything, he understood. He wasn't mad at Skoodge either. He knew he would have done the same. He wasn't even so much as irritated that he was allowing GIR to sleep on his head right now despite his ruined antenna. So what was it exactly that was nagging at him? This little voice scratching at the back of his skull that he couldn't seem to get rid of. Zim did his best to shake his head without waking his robot. 

Eventually, he had to stand and stretch his legs. Doing so made GIR stir, and Zim sighed and put him in that co-pilot seat. He paced back and forth in the cockpit, just listening to the sounds of his heels clacking against the floor since it was really the loudest thing he could hear. He didn't have a lot to ponder. At least he didn't think he did. He had said what he needed to say. He told Skoodge his plans and explained himself to Dib. His cannon was finished and waiting to be tested and used. But why was he still upset? It was making him more unhappy just trying to figure it out. He stopped pacing, his heel scraping the floor. He tapped his toes and stared out the window. 

"Computer." He said, finally. 

The machine whirred to life in response. 

"Play back the Tallests message again."

The computer sighed. "Again?" 

"Twice. Just for good measure."

So a screen lowered and the computer did as it was told. Zim listened to the recorded message for the umpteenth time. He listened intently to every word and paid attention to every little movement they made. He made it a point to memorize every single little aspect of the video, to burn it into his memory bank. He could practically recite it now, but he really let their words sink in. He was going to prove them wrong. He was going to destroy everything they put their life's work into. Everything they cared about. And suddenly, in a brilliant moment of realization, it all clicked into place, and Zim found someone to be mad at. 

-X-

Dib's pen hovered over the page. He tapped it harshly against the doodle he'd made, leaving little black ink splotches that he didn't want. He placed his chin in his hand and sighed. He looked down at his scribble of The Space Ghost. His gaze wandered up and onto his arm. Experimentally, he pushed the sleeve of his long-sleeved baseball tee back with his pen and looked over the scars. They weren't big, but there were a lot of them. Normally, he couldn't look at them for more than a few moments before they made him nauseous. Especially since he could remember in vivid detail how each one of them got there. And what came after. However, this time was different. This time, Dib stared at them, enraptured. He even went so far as to touch them. He felt the hardened bumpy flesh and how weird it was compared to the rest of his undamaged skin. Dib sighed again and slapped his pen on his desk. He pinched his nose bridge and leaned back in his seat. 

He should talk to Zim. He knew he'd have to eventually. He needed a way to put a stop to his plan, he just wasn't sure how. Zim's mind was made up, and Dib was running out of methods of persuasion for getting him to at least delay it. But the cannon was finished, and it was a huge stroke of luck that it wasn't immediately put to use like Zim made it seem it would be. The chair screeched as Dib stood and ran his hands through his hair. It was greasy and it stuck together. It also itched like crazy whenever his head hit the pillow, preventing the already rare moments of sleep. He figured he'd have to wash his hair at some point, he just didn't feel like it right now. His palms made their way to his chin, and his coarse stubble scratched into his skin. He'd have to shave, too. 

The doors to his chambers hissed open as he passed. He wasn't exactly sure where he was going, but he just felt like he had to move around or he'd go crazy. He stopped in the kitchen, but, after deciding that he was nowhere near hungry, he left. He wandered aimlessly around the ship for a while, just admiring it as a whole. It really was a very nice ship. And it was much easier to admire now that Zim wasn't nagging and yelling at him to be in certain places at certain times. Eventually, though, he found himself stopping just in front of the cockpit. He could hear voices inside. He leaned over just slightly in an attempt to hear some of the words. Of course, they were in irken, and he could only pick out certain words. 

"Earth", "embarrassment", "mission", and "die" were the ones that seemed to appear the most. Dib frowned. Who was Zim talking to? The voice sounded so familiar, but he just couldn't place it. It was on the tip of his tongue, and it seemed like it was so obvious. He took a small step forward to try and hear more, when the voice suddenly stopped. Afraid he'd been caught, Dib quickly leaned back and held his breath. 

"I know you're over there, Dib-beast."

Dib sighed once more and stepped into the cockpit just in time to see the screen vanish into the ceiling. 

"Who was that?" 

"It was an old message. It's none of your concern."

"You keep saying that, and it always ends up becoming my concern."

"Well it's not. And it won't ever be."

"Excuse me if I find that a little bit hard to believe."

Zim only sniffed in response. Dib looked down at the console at the screen. 

"Your cannon is online. Any particular reason you're putting off using it?" 

"Did you want something, Dib?" Zim turned to look at him, an annoyed expression on his face. 

"Answers, mostly." Dib shrugged. 

Zim silently turned back to look out the window again. 

"I'm trying to find somewhere suitable to use it."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that I'm not diving straight into my plan as much as I want to. I have to test it first, make sure it's actually as stable as it claims it is."

"So what, you're just gonna…" Dib gestured largely with his arms. "Shoot into the depths of space?" 

"Better than scouring the universe for some sorry excuse of a planet to use as a target. This way we won't even know who we hit."

"Isn't that worse? Can't you just find… I don't know, some uninhabited planet somewhere?" 

"Do you want to spend years and years looking for something that might not even exist?"

Dib huffed. 

"My sentiments exactly." Zim pressed a button, and a seemingly random course was set. "So just relax for a while and… for pete's sake, clean yourself up. Your disgusting body odor is starting to stink up the ship." The alien pushed past him and disappeared down the hallway to his own quarters. 

So Dib washed up, cleaned his hair, and put on new clothes. He put on a purple shirt with a face that looked similar to the one on his classic blue shirt, except the eyes were plus signs. Dib thought the face was kind of funny. Once he was somewhat satisfied with how he looked and smelled, he made his way out of his quarters and back to the cockpit. Zim still wasn't there, and GIR was running circles screaming his head off about tacos. He looked through the console and saw that the screen was still displaying the words "STABLE" and slowly flashing. He looked to GIR and an idea suddenly struck him. He looked around to make sure that he was alone and couldn't be heard even if Zim was lurking somewhere near. 

"Hey GIR."

The robot stopped in front of Dib, though he still bounced on his(heels? Toes? Feet? Dib wasn't really sure what to call them) and whimpered. 

"What do you say we take a closer look at the cannon?" 

-X-

He had to admit, he didn't feel great about it. There was a real chance that things could go very wrong in so many different ways. If Zim ever found out that Dib had sabotaged his cannon… Dib couldn't even begin to imagine the kinds of things that he'd do to him. But it was the only way he could find to make sure that no one else was unnecessarily hurt. At least, for the time being. Dib began to unscrew some bolts and GIR started to chew at some of the wires. It took only a couple of minutes before Dib was satisfied. It didn't look like it had just been tampered with, but he was sure the damage would be enough to break it. Hopefully beyond repair. 

"Okay, GIR, that should be enough. Let's head inside." 

"Okie dokie!" 

Once GIR was close enough, Dib grabbed him by the sides of his face and pulled him close. 

"Zim can never find out we did this GIR. Do you understand?" 

"Uh-huh!" 

Dib raised a brow. "Do you really?" 

GIR nodded frantically. 

"...Okay."

Dib grabbed GIR by the hand and they floated back to the airlock. Dib looked around for any sign of Zim, or any kind of alarm that may have gone off. He was in luck, and there seemed to be no alarms, and no Zim. Dib scooted GIR into the hallway and let him sprint away. Dib stared around the hallway, trying to calm his racing heart and pounding nerves. He ran his hand through his hair. He wanted to at least look like he wasn't just doing something he shouldn't be. He made a beeline to his quarters, only to find Zim snooping around. 

"What the hell are you doing?" 

Zim turned to him, one of Dib's old notebooks open in his hands. Dib recognized that particular notebook almost immediately. It was the one he poured his heart and soul into whenever he was feeling upset, angry, or excited. And now Zim was reading it. 

"You saw Bigfoot use the belt sander?" Zim asked as Dib snatched the book from his hands. 

Dib hugged the book tightly to his chest. It wasn't that entry that made his face go almost white-hot, it was the one after. It was an entry from the lowest point of Dib's life. The last thing he wanted was Zim of all people reading that entry. 

"What the hell are you doing?" Dib repeated. 

"I was looking for you. You weren't in your room, so I thought I would snoop around for a bit."

"This is none of your business, Zim. This entire trip, I haven't looked through your things without your permission, what makes you think that you can do the same to me?" 

Zim shrugged and smirked. "Curiosity~" 

Dib felt his knuckles burn with the sudden aching need to deck Zim right in his bad eye. However, he knew he'd already gotten his revenge. 

"Well I'm here now. What do you want?" Dib asked through gritted teeth. 

"We're closing in on the coordinates I put in. Get ready for some fireworks." Zim walked out of Dib's room with a strange cheery air about him. 

Dib stared after the alien, his expression stuck between anger and confusion at his sudden change in mood. Deciding to process the situation for a later date, Dib shook his head and walked further into the room to put his notebook in a better hiding spot. Somewhere up high should do it. He opened his duffle bag on the highest shelf he could reach and stuffed the book inside. He tidied up the mess that Zim left behind before joining him in the cockpit. 

-X-

His heart was pounding so hard, he could feel it in his throat. Zim stood over the panel used to activate the cannon that Dib and GIR had tampered with. He had no idea how much damage he'd actually done, so he didn't know what it was going to do. There was a pretty equal chance that it could either blow up or just simply not respond to the controls. Zim seemed really eager and excited too, making Dib feel extremely guilty for what he'd done. Zim was so unstable and unpredictable already that there was no telling how he'd react to the plan they spent months of literal blood, sweat, and tears on turn out to be such a horrific failure. He watched in silent panic as Zim aimed the cannon at what looked like nothing. He gave Dib a big goofy grin, and Dib tried his best to smile back. He figured it looked more like a grimace than a smile, but Zim seemed to buy it. 

Dib could hear the distant humming of the large weapon from inside the ship, and his stomach began to turn with worry. But if he said anything to Zim about stopping now, then Zim would know exactly who to blame for the damage. Or they could both be blown to smithereens and then it wouldn't matter. Either or. Secretly, Dib was hoping for the latter. 

As the cannon kept warming, it didn't seem to stop. It made Zim frown in confusion and start to press buttons in an attempt to get it to cool, but the weapon didn't seem to respond. 

"No, no, no, please don't do this…!" Zim pleaded under his breath. 

"What's wrong?" Dib asked, this time genuinely concerned. 

"There's something wrong with the cooling system. If I can't get it to cool now, the metal will start to melt." Zim continued to try and take control of the situation, but every effort he made seemed to go nowhere. 

Suddenly, the screen in front of them blared an angry red and urgently flashed the word "UNSTABLE" as alarms went off from everywhere. Zim groaned from the painful noise and continued to try to fix it. When he finally saw that nothing could be done, he slammed his fists on the panel. 

"FUCK. We have to dislodge it."

"What?!"

"Do you want to lose the whole damn ship?! We have to get it out!"

Zim hurried to the airlock with Dib close behind. The both of them quickly put on their suits, grabbed the toolbox, and made their way outside just in time to see the red-hot cannon start to melt. Zim cursed again and the pair began to try and figure out how to remove the weapon. The entire thing was scorching hot to the touch, and none of their tools seemed to be able to withstand the growing heat. Zim looked like he was beginning to panic, but Dib had an idea. 

"Zim. I have a plan, but I don't think you're going to like it."

Zim stared at the human, magenta eyes blown as wide as possible as he strained his good antenna to listen. 

"I'll go back inside and seal all the doors around the area. You use your PAK to cut a hole in the ship around the cannon so that we can just push this thing out."

Zim alternated looking desperately between Dib and the cannon. Dib knew first hand just how much work and sacrifice Zim put into making this whole thing possible. He wasn't about to let it go if he could help it. So Dib had to make sure he knew he couldn't, even if it actually was possible. 

"ZIM. There's nothing more we can do. It's gone. We failed."

Zim began to chew nervously at his lip. Dib knew just how powerful the word "failure" was. To Zim, he never failed. Failure wasn't an option. However, this time, he finally seemed to admit defeat. He screamed and punched the top of the ship, creating a small dent. 

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! SAVE THE SHIP!" 

Dib was back inside before he knew it. Almost immediately, he began shutting and sealing doors as tight as they would go. He wasn't exactly sure how they were going to get back inside, but that wasn't the most important thing on his mind right now. He shook his head clear and sealed the last door. Dib made his way back outside and gave Zim a brief nod. The irken snarled and all four of his PAK legs sprung out of their compartments. They emitted a bright blue-white, as he quickly began to cut straight through the ship's metallic shell, tracing the area of which the cannon sat. Eventually, it became loose, and Zim once again managed to squeeze himself under the weapon and use his already damaged hands to shove it away from the ship. He floated in the crevice and watched his pride and joy turn to liquid before his eyes. 

-X-

Dib felt like shit. He placed his hands over his ears as Zim screamed and rampaged throughout the ship. Before he'd locked himself in his room, Dib witnessed Zim's blind rage was just as dangerous to himself as he was to everything around him. He banged his head repeatedly against walls, biting and tearing at his skin, and constantly yanking at his antennae, which Dib knew hurt. Dib himself had suffered similar injuries with the addition of deep scratches that he thought might later need stitches. He'd received them when he tried to calm the alien, but instead of giving the response Dib expected, it made Zim turn on him like a light switch. So to avoid possible life-threatening injury, Dib decided to hide in his room with the door sealed tight and his desk pressed against it. 

Zim's whirlwind of madness continued for hours, and Dib wondered if he would ever tire himself out. He jolted as yet another ear-splitting screech echoed in his head as Zim once again clawed mercilessly at his door. When he finally grew tired of that, Dib heard the loud clicking of his boots fade down the corridor. He shook his head free of the terrible noise and grabbed a discarded tablet off the floor. He looked it over. It didn't appear to have gotten damaged in Dib's hasty barricade job. He knew there was only one person in the known universe who he could call for help, Dib just sincerely hoped he wouldn't regret it as he quickly sent a transmission. And after a few painfully long minutes, his call was accepted.

"What do you want, Dib?" 

Dib nearly burst into tears with relief. 

"SKOODGE! Oh my God, you have NO idea how happy I am to see you!" 

Skoodge frowned. "Why? What's wrong? Oh my Tallest, what happened to your face?" 

"That's not important right now. Skoodge, Zim's gone completely nuts. His cannon failed and I think he's having some sort of mental breakdown?" Tears started to pour down his cheeks. "He's hurting himself and I don't know what to do, I'm scared shitless."

"Okay, okay, calm down. Take a breath for a second. There you go, are you safe?" 

Dib sniffed and nodded. 

"I've got some minor bites and scratches, but I'm okay."

"Good. And don't worry, Zim will be fine."

Dib narrowed his eyes suspiciously. 

"What do you mean by that? He's not fine, Skoodge, that's why I'm calling."

Skoodge waved his hand dismissively. 

"Zim will tire himself out eventually, and when he does, his PAK will heal whatever he's done to himself. It's really not that serious."

"Not that-" Dib leaned back against his desk. "Skoodge, it's been four hours."

"He has a lot of energy. You know that."

"This is different! This is four hours worth of constant damage!" 

"His PAK can heal more than double that. Dib, I think you're blowing this out of proportion."

Dib felt his face heat up. It was almost like he was back on Earth for a moment. Here he was, trying to explain a situation that he thought was extremely urgent and needed to be stopped, and the only person he could talk to didn't believe the severity of what he was trying to say. Sure he knew that Zim was throwing a tantrum as usual, but that was all he heard. He didn't seem to grasp that Zim was causing himself horrible pain and jeopardizing Dib's only way back home. If only there was some way to make Skoodge see the extent of Zim's rage. 

"What about his mental state?" 

Skoodge's antennae perked in confusion. 

"Hm? What about it?" 

"Even if Zim DOES manage to tire himself out soon, what's going to happen then? He'll be so fragile. He's already unstable as it is, there's no telling what this failure would do to him."

"He said he was going to destroy my planet's sun, Dib. I'd say he's too far gone already."

"So what? You're just going to give up?" 

Skoodge sneered, the cute green marshmallow gone. 

"No. I am going to warn the people of Irk and the Armada. They know how dangerous Zim is, they'll believe it."

Dib's mouth hung open in disbelief. 

"I thought you and Zim were friends. You're just going to let him suffer?" 

Skoodge's expression softened somewhat, but he held his look of determination. 

"He decided to suffer in silence when he refused my help. I'm sorry, Dib. But this is your fight now. I wish you the best. Truly I do." Skoodge ended the call before Dib could get in another word. 

Dib stared at his reflection, barely even registering that the conversation was over. He struggled to process what had just happened. Skoodge just flat out refused to help the only other ally he had. Which, if Dib thought about it, was totally fair. Zim's last parting words were that he couldn't care less about the destruction of his own planet and he challenged the survivors to come after him. Zim didn't fear death, if anything, he welcomed it. That was what worried Dib the most. Mainly because he'd had the exact same thoughts not that long ago himself. Dib got to his feet. If Skoodge wasn't going to help, then damn it, at least he was right. It was Dib's fight now, and he was going to win it. He didn't have a choice. 

Dib shoved his desk away from the door and took a deep breath before opening it. He didn't hear Zim at all now. Which was both a good and a bad sign. As he looked around, he noticed that it was really dark. Zim had destroyed almost every light source, and only left exposed wires from the walls that sparked every so often. From what Dib was able to see, everything that could be trashed was demolished. Wires hung dangerously from the ceilings as a few lights flickered faintly. Panels were ripped from the wall, and there were long, deep claw marks embedded deep into the metal. Dib guessed some of those were the work of his PAK legs too. There were both large and small dents in the walls and doors with thick pink sludge oozing down to the floor. Dib swallowed hard and followed the alarmingly long trail of pink goo that lead to Zim's quarters. Dib pressed his ear to the door and listened. He could hear faint clicking and sniffling, and Dib gently knocked. 

"...Zim?"

The sniffing immediately stopped, yet the clicking continued. 

"Zim, I know you're in there, I can hear your PAK."

"What do you want?" Zim's voice was hoarse and broken. Dib supposed that was due to the hours of screaming. 

"To talk."

Dib didn't get a response, so he took another deep breath and opened the door, surprised to find it unlocked. Dib looked around and saw the most broken alien he'd ever seen curled up in the farthest corner of the room. Zim shook violently and had his PAK legs surrounding him defensively. It looked like he'd been put in a cage. He was covered nearly head to toe in the pink liquid, yet Dib could see the deep red of his own blood smeared across his face and staining his teeth. 

"If you want to say something, say it now before I kick you out."

Dib suddenly found himself utterly speechless. He didn't even know where to begin with addressing Zim's current state. While Dib was debating what to say, Zim stuck to his word and pressed a button to shut the door. In a flash, Dib stuck his hand out to keep it from closing. 

"Wait-" 

Zim looked up at him. He didn't look angry, resentful, or even annoyed. He just looked exhausted. 

"Um… Kind of a stupid question. But are you okay?" 

"Do I look okay?" 

"That's why I said it was a stupid question." Dib managed to take a few steps inside without so much as a grunt. 

It then occurred to Dib that he'd never actually been in Zim's room. Papers written in irken lined the walls, and his desk was littered with books and discarded tech. The floor was completely covered in paper, not a single inch was spared. The papers on the floor were taped together and what was scribbled on them looked like some massive irken vessel. Zim's bed was still neatly made and untouched. Dib swore he even saw dust begin to make their home on the blankets. 

"Are you waiting for me to offer you tea or something, Dib? It's not going to happen."

"Oh, sorry. But I mean, Jesus, where do I even start? You went totally off the rails."

Zim looked away and hugged his knees closer to his chest. He didn't seem too eager to talk, so Dib continued. 

"So ARE you okay?" 

Zim sighed. "Physically, I'm fine."

"Doesn't look that way to me. You look like shit."

"My PAK is working to heal me, I'm fine."

Dib sat in front of Zim's PAK leg cage, earning a confused look from the alien. 

"And mentally?" 

Zim frowned and turned his body to face away from the human before him. 

"Zim, I can't help you if you don't let me."

"I didn't ask for your help."

"You didn't have to. I'm offering."

Zim seemed to really think about it. His antenna twitched once. Then twice. Then a third time before it fell against his skull. Dib was beginning to see how hard it was for him to even ask for help, let alone accept when it was offered unprompted. Zim's long metal legs slowly made their way back to their compartments and were replaced by a tablet. Zim tapped at it for a moment before turning it around. Dib took it and saw the faces of both the Tallest. He'd met them before. They didn't seem like they made the best leaders, but Dib had still been wary of them. He glanced at Zim for a second before tapping the screen to play the message. 

Zim translated everything they said as the video played. He even went so far as to mimic their movements as they spoke, and he did it with startling accuracy. Dib guessed that Zim had watched it too many times to count. He also recognized the voice as the eerily familiar one he'd heard months ago. Then suddenly, it all clicked and made so much more sense. 

When the video was over, it was quickly snatched from Dib's hands and placed into its original spot in the PAK. Dib stared at Zim for a while before he spoke again. 

"I had no idea…"

"I'm defective. That's why."

"Defective?" Where had Dib heard that term before? 

"I've lived my life so far trying my damndest to avoid it. I tried to forget about it. Make it seem like nothing was wrong. I tried to trick other irkens into thinking the same thing. But I couldn't. And they never let me forget, either."

Dib shook his head. "So… That code from before…"

Zim rolled his eyes. "It was mine."

"Did… Did Skoodge know about it?" 

"Everyone did." Zim stood shakily. Dib tried to offer support, but Zim waved him away. 

"I just modified the diagnostic because I knew it was worse than before. I just didn't want to find out myself, so I sent Skoodge an old one."

"I meant did he know you were defective?" 

"Of course he did. At first, he turned his back like everyone else. But unlike them, he eventually came around and accepted me." Zim smiled briefly before it faded back into his cold, emotionless gaze. "Because he's not normal either. More so than me, but that doesn't mean anything." 

"Is Skoodge a defective too?" 

Zim chuckled. "Heavens, no. The son of a bitch conquered Blorch, home of the slaughtering rat people. He was the first invader to complete his mission in Operation Impending Doom Two. He's just… softer. In terms of emotions, that is. So in that sense, he's weaker and easier to pick on." 

Zim's look of admiration was quickly replaced by a look of shame and guilt. It was the first time that Dib had ever seen that look on his face. It was extremely unsettling and didn't fit him at all. 

"He was the only irken I ever truly considered to be a 'friend'. And why telling him my plan was the hardest thing I've ever done. Now he's gone, and I have no one."

"That's not true."

Zim gave Dib a questioning look. Dib swallowed a lump in his throat he didn't know was there. He wrung his hands together like he always did whenever he knew that he was most likely going to be rejected. It was a nervous tick that he wished he could get rid of. 

"You have me."

Zim stared at Dib for a few moments. He didn't laugh. He didn't say Dib was crazy and completely shatter his frail confidence. Instead, he just casted his eyes back to the floor sadly. 

"Why would you say that? You hate me. We're sworn enemies."

"Well I've found that since being on this mission with you, sure you're a little shit like you always are, but it's times like these where I'm reminded that you're also the single coolest person I know."

Zim looked back up, frowning. Dib figured that a compliment or two would cheer up the self-centered alien. 

"I mean, you're the only one who actually believes in the things I do. Your antics have gotten me through so many terrible times where I thought I was alone. And yes, believe it or not, I understand exactly where you're coming from."

Zim scoffed. 

"I'm serious! Having everyone you know turn their backs on you? How no one takes you seriously? Trying so hard to prove things to them, knowing that they will never understand or accept you? Sound familiar?

"Zim, somehow, you're the one who's helped me get through those times when I thought I had no one. When I was at my lowest. Only I realized that I did always have someone. Maybe he wasn't my friend, but I had something to look forward to every day. On good days, you were there, and on bad days, you were there. You helped give my life purpose. And after I realized that, I knew that I didn't need to prove myself to anyone anymore because I had someone in my life who understood. Who saw me for me. Who, deep down, is just as alone as I am. That person is you, Zim. Like it or not."

Dib chewed at his lip. He hadn't meant to totally spill his feelings out, but they just came, and he went with it. He'd been meaning to say it for a while now, but there was never a right time. His therapist had told him many times to tell Zim what he just did, and every time he didn't, he could practically see the disappointment in her eyes. But Dib had to admit, it was a huge weight off his shoulders. Zim, however, seemed to have trouble with letting the confession sink in. Dib knew he wasn't really in tune with his emotions, which meant trying to explain it would be fruitless and awkward. Instead, he settled for waiting patiently as Zim tried to make sense of what he was told. 

"You really are crazy, aren't you?" 

Zim sounded like he meant it as a tease, but he didn't have enough energy to actually make it convincing, and Dib almost took it as rejection. 

"I guess so. I mean, maybe being trapped here with you has made me that way."

"Wouldn't be the first time." Zim glanced at Dib. "I…" He sighed. "I'm sorry, Dib."

"Hm? For what?" 

"For…" Zim gestured to Dib's wounds. "That. And I'm sorry Space Ghost." 

Dib chuckled. "I'm sure she forgives you. And Zim?" 

Zim looked Dib in the eyes. 

"I really don't care that that malfunction code thing is yours."

Zim frowned. "You should. I could hurt you. Uh, more than I already have."

"I know. If anything, I find it really interesting. I'd like to learn more about it. If you're okay with it, that is."

Zim's frown only deepened. "I'm not. But, no one has ever taken interest in it before. At least, not in the way you do. I suppose I can humor your primitive brain with a few details."

There really wasn't much conversation. Zim was still exhausted, and Dib was trying to give him a bit of space to think. Zim tried to distract himself with small statements and dry humor, but he always ended up in silence again. Zim used some of the first aid functions from his PAK to treat some of Dib's more serious wounds as Zim was in the midst of a stupid story. Dib suddenly smiled as an idea struck him. 

"...So that's why I don't eat that anymore. What are you smiling about?"

"Zim, I have an idea." Dib felt his chest flutter with excitement. 

Zim raised an eye ridge where an eyebrow would be. 

"You said that before, now there's a giant hole in the ship."

"No, no, Zim, this is a good idea! I have a plan for the leftover metals."

"We have leftover metals?" 

"Yes we do. Those things are really fucking condensed, remember?" 

"Where are you going with this?" 

"Zim, we can still make weapons and stuff with it. We may not have enough to make another cannon, but we can still make a really powerful weapon. You still have that big gun from Zorg, right?" 

"Yeah?" Zim looked at him sideways. "Why do you care suddenly? You hated working on the cannon." 

"Because you were planning on destroying a planet's sun with it. But with something a little smaller, you could still do some damage, but an entire planet won't suffer from it!" 

Dib could see the wheels turning in Zim's head. 

"I still don't understand. Why do you suddenly want to start causing damage and help come up with a new plan? What do you get out of it?" 

Dib fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. If he was being honest, he didn't know the answer himself. He just knew that there was a way to make a stronger weapon with the extra metals and some parts from that huge gun, and blurted it out like he did when he was twelve. But he had to say something instead of sitting there mouth agape. 

"W-Well I'll get to go somewhere new. I can learn things. And I like the Irken empire almost as much as you do right now. So I think it'll be satisfying to wreak some havoc."

"I see what you mean. How many vials do we have left?" 

Dib thought. "I think six?" 

A sudden chill went up his spine as he saw a twisted smile form on the alien's lips as a lightbulb turned on overhead. For a brief moment, Dib wondered if he'd made a mistake about giving Zim an idea 

"Excellent. And I have just the perfect plan. But we're going to have to make a stop first."

"Oh?" Dib felt his fingers twitch. "Where's that?" 

"Home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter five is out finally!
> 
> So sorry for the wait, I've been busy with being back in school and stuff and I haven't gotten the chance to post it until now. I'll have chapter six finished and ready to post as soon as I can! Thank you all for your patience! <3


	6. . A Journey Home and Venomous Bites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So the pair finally make it to Irk. But will it go as planned?

"Come on, Zim, I really don't think this is a good idea…!" 

"Shut your noise-hole Dib-worm. You don't think anything is a good idea."

"This is different. I mean for God's sake, I'll be the only human on Irk! I'd stick out like a sore thumb! Do you want me to get captured and then tortured forever?" 

"Under normal circumstances, I would love that. But these are not normal circumstances, Dib, not to mention that you're mine to torture and mine alone. So quit whining about it and just trust me for once."

Zim pushed a lever that had the ship jerk for a second before speeding off into the depths of space. Dib left the room in a huff, deciding to pick his battles. There was no point in arguing with Zim anymore. Whenever the alien's mind was set on something, there was no going back. Even if it was worth arguing about, Zim always did as he said he would despite Dib's protests and concerns. He didn't really appreciate Zim's growing possessiveness either. If he was honest, Dib didn't really notice at first, but it became more obvious when Zim started to act defensive and occasionally claim that Dib was his. He'd said it so casually that Dib had almost missed it entirely. Dib knew that Zim was an extremely greedy creature, and thought that everything that he considered valuable was undoubtedly his. And while Dib felt for a brief moment that he should be happy to be of value to someone, he figured that Zim of all people wasn't the best option. 

As far as trust went, Dib found that he grew to trust Zim a lot(much to his dismay). Maybe not as a friend, but as a leader. He was surprisingly capable and handy, and he was a quick thinker. He was able to find a way out of a sticky situation using whatever he had available to him. He was extremely resourceful, and Dib was almost ashamed to admit that it was something he admired about the alien. But he definitely had his doubts about joining Zim on the mission to Irk. No matter how protective or resourceful he was, it was risky. Dib knew now how much Irk despised Zim, and knew how hard they would work to make them both disappear if they were caught. 

Dib sat down at his desk and ran his hand through his hair, his fingers getting caught in painful tangles. The hair on the sides and back of his head had fully grown back, and now it just looked like a tangled mop of coarse, curly black hair. He'd even started to grow a small, scratchy beard. Dib hated it and deeply regretted not bringing his razor and straightener along. He felt the small scars along his cheek, neck, shoulder, and the slightly bigger ones on his arms. He only hoped that he could explain these away to his father when he got home. He'd have to explain that they weren't from self-harm. God, he was not looking forward to that conversation. Dib's eyes searched over some of the various papers that were strewn about his desk and picked one up. It was a paper he'd written months ago that was part of a bigger packet. He'd documented several of the many things he learned and seen with the intention of sharing it with the Swollen Eyeball when he got home. 

Dib smiled softly as he read through the paper. It was almost crazy that he wrote so much differently now, even in only a few months time. He sounded so much more excited and eager before. Now he was just more sad and numb. Still starving for new information and adventure, sure, but everything he'd come to know about this mission he'd intruded on took bigger and bigger pieces of him. Dib knew almost everything there was to know about Zim, yet there was always more. A deeper level that he'd never even considered. Something much more sinister and twisted lurking in those large, raspberry eyes of his. Suddenly, another paper grasped his attention. Dib reached over and unearthed it from the several layers of papers resting on it. It was the paper he wrote a couple of days after Zim showed Dib the message the Tallests had sent. 

Dib didn't know why it took him so long to digest the information, it really wasn't that hard of a concept to grasp. The Tallest wanted nothing more to do with Zim, and they "exiled" him on Earth. Apparently, it started as a joke, but then it had turned into more of a pain in the ass. That was all there was to it. On the surface, anyway. However, it was a completely different story when Dib had tried to look at it from Zim's perspective. It wasn't hard, Dib had been treated almost exactly the same way his whole life. But Zim was different. His entire existence revolved around these two very important figures. He was programmed to love, admire, and obey their every command. Whereas Dib was allowed to be angry, rebel, and change, Zim was not. Zim had to work even harder to go against his code. He was making great strides, but Dib had to imagine that it was exhausting. It was a constant battle of dominance for the irken, and being defective didn't even seem to really help him in this regard. 

Dib set the paper down and leaned back in his seat. He sighed and thought about what Irk might be like. He found it difficult to imagine that it was anything more than industrial and kind of gross. According to Skoodge, it was extremely technologically advanced, and to Dib, that screamed cheesy sci-fi. As excited as Dib was to finally see Irk, he was just as nervous. He was visiting a planet he'd considered an enemy ever since he was a child, and he was without a doubt going to be noticed. Dib knew how territorial Irkens were, and knew that he definitely wasn't going to get away without another fresh wound or five. But he strangely found himself hoping that Zim's newfound possessiveness would prove to be handy and he would be perfectly protected. Despite Zim's size, he sure made a formidable bodyguard and was a force to be reckoned with. 

Dib stood and looked around the room. They had quite a while before they reached Irk, and he wasn't exactly sure what to do with that time. With the scary-fast drive initiated, he couldn't continue repairs to the ship, and the ship was moving too fast for him to send a transmission to call Gaz. So for now, he settled for going into the kitchen for lunch. 

-X-

Only a few hours. In a few hours, he'd be home. Zim shook his head. No, not home. He didn't have a home anymore. This was a reconnaissance mission. He was going to scope out the place to see where Irk was in relation to Operation Impending Doom Two, snatch up a few materials, and that was it. He wanted to make sure that the Massive was still underway, and the Tallest could watch from a far. Zim felt his antenna twitch excitedly at the thought. He was going to get the ultimate revenge. Once this was done, he was then going to break into every smeetery and every training facility and completely wreck havoc. Zim was going to get his bloodshed one way or another. And the Tallest would be witness to the carnage of their people. Then, once they got the message, he was going to track down the massive and-

"Zim?" Dib's voice made Zim nearly jump out of his skin. 

"What do you want, Dib-beast? Can't you see that I'm busy?" Zim turned in his seat to see the human munching on a sandwich. 

"Oh? With what?" Dib casually sat next to him in the co-pilot's seat. 

Zim rolled his eyes. 

"That's none of your concern."

Dib stopped mid-chew and raised an eyebrow. Zim frowned and turned back to face out the window. 

"I'm just thinking of Irk is all."

"You're not getting cold feet, are you?" 

"Foolish Earth boy, Zim's feet are perfectly warm."

"You know what I mean."

Zim sighed heavily. "No. The plan has not changed. We're merely going to look around. That's all."

Dib couldn't help but feel like there was more. 

"That's it?" 

"For the time being, yes. This is a high-risk mission, and I have to make sure that nothing can go wrong. For your sake, anyway."

"Gee, I feel so appreciated." It was almost true. 

Zim scoffed and got out of his seat.

"I have a plan for this weapon you suggested." Zim took the satchel out of the console. "It shouldn't take long to construct. It'll be small, but powerful. Something inconspicuous."

Dib bit his tongue to avoid pointing out the similarities between the statement and the alien before him and potentially pissing him off. 

"Okay, cool. So what are you planning on using it for?" 

Zim's mouth twisted into a toothy grin, and Dib knew that he might not like the answer. 

"Patience, Dib. All good things come to those who wait. For now, you need to make yourself look somewhat presentable. Have the computer prepare something for you. We'll be landing in a matter of hours."

"Sure…" Dib stood and brushed his pants free of invisible crumbs and dust and left. 

Zim put his hands behind his back and swung the satchel back and forth. He listened to the soft clinking of glass for a few seconds and stopped. The painful ticking in his PAK had begun again, and he braced for the inevitable hot flash of pain from the snap. When it finally came, he ground his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut as he waited for the searing pain to subside. It felt like he'd just been stabbed with a hot blade. The pain coarsed through every single vein in his body and was becoming more and more difficult to ignore, but Zim was determined. His code was not going to be the end of him. He wouldn't dare give the Control Brains the satisfaction of granting him death. He'd rather end himself then and there. Zim put the satchel back in its compartment and leaned over the console. He hadn't realized that GIR had approached him until he looked down at the robot. 

Zim's expression softened to one of guilt and shame. Every time he looked at GIR, he was reminded that just a couple of days ago, he'd ripped the little robot apart limb from limb. GIR now suffered worse behavioral and technical issues because he wasn't finished with repairs. Zim had mainly focused on getting GIR to be able to talk and respond first, but now the robot refused to sit still for more than two minutes, making repairs to his complex systems significantly more difficult. GIR now had no sense of depth perception, no coordination, he had memory loss, he couldn't see many colors anymore, and most of his speech was slurred. However, his energy and eagerness to please remained completely unchanged. Zim was just fairly pleased to have his henchman in some kind of working order. 

"GIR, do you remember where the Dib's room is?" 

GIR seemed to think really hard about the question, but he nodded. 

"Good. I need you to keep an eye on him for me, okay? Can you do that?" 

GIR saluted, his eyes flashing red, then yellow, then back to blue. "YETH MY MEESTER!" 

Zim watched as GIR sprinted out of the room, crashing against the wall and spinning around before running in the correct direction. Zim sighed and looked back out the window. Soon, his new plan would finally be put into action. His antenna twitched, and he could almost taste the sweet blood in his mouth, coating and rotting away his teeth. The feeling of his jagged mouth bones sinking and tearing into the soft flesh of another. Feeling their dying breaths against his own skin and hearing their garbled, choked screams in his antenna. The taste of absolute victory was warm and velvety on his tongue, and he savored every second of it. Zim smiled at the thought of the pure destruction that this new plan will bring, and he wondered why he didn't think of it before. It had to be done right. Perfectly. Or else this delicious feeling of satisfaction would never come to pass. Zim couldn't let that happen. It had to work. Zim felt an unfamiliar feeling begin to work its way up from the deepest part of his spooch. It was dark, twisted, and strange. But it felt freeing, like Zim had realized something that he should have long ago. It quickly began to wedge itself deep into his brain, and Zim felt the back of his skull tingle with the sensation. And suddenly, his primal urge to kill had never been stronger. 

-X-

Dib looked at himself in the mirror. His eyes glanced over the strange clothes the computer had made for him. It looked almost like the tunic that Zim wore, except this was bright white with black buttons instead of stripes. It went down to about mid-thigh and, Dib had to admit, was tastefully asymmetrical. The left side dipped down further than the right, and there were slits on the sides that ran up to his waist. It was sleeveless, and showed the long sleeves of his mauve undershirt which clamped uncomfortably around his wrists. The collar was almost suffocating with how tight it was, and the chest felt like it was too small. The pants were a sleek black and were just tight enough to be obnoxious. His boots were shiny and had big silver buckles. They didn't make him look much taller, but he didn't mind. After confirmation from the computer that this was the appropriate size and how it should be worn, Dib set out to finally fix his hair. 

Dib ran his fingers through his hair again and poked at the faint bags under his eyes. He found his comb in a drawer, and started to run it through his mop. A bunch of the teeth had broken on the tangles, and he finally quit. He attempted to fix his hair as best he could, but little came of his efforts. It was slightly better than it was before now that some of it had been brushed, but it was still a mess. Dib sighed in defeat, and stepped away from the mirror. At least it didn't look that bad from a distance. And Dib figured that irkens probably couldn't care less about his hair. He exited his bathroom and stared at the little robot sitting on his bed. He knew Zim had sent GIR to watch him, but he didn't really know why. GIR was still pretty broken, and he looked to be more interested in the wall than Dib. 

"Hey."

GIR gave no response. 

"GIR."

Suddenly, the robot's head turned a full three sixty, which startled Dib for a split second. But the huge smile on his face was so cute, Dib easily forgot about it. 

"Hey, bud. How're you doing?" 

"COCONONONUT CHICKZEN THOUP!" 

"Coconononut- oh." Dib chuckled. "Glad to hear it."

Dib had always struggled to figure out how GIR normally communicated. However, since he'd been around GIR so often during this mission, they started to come up with their own little language and codes. And it looked like GIR still remembered some of it, which was a relief. It had taken ages to get the robot to understand and repeat what he was teaching him. Coconut, chicken, and soup were among some of the things GIR didn't mind eating. They weren't his favorites like pizza or tacos, but he liked them okay. And in using those words as a response, he had told Dib that he was okay. Not perfect, but okay. Teaching GIR how to speak to him in a more secretive way was something Dib was proud of. It was hard to teach him anything, but once he'd gotten the hang of it, GIR was able to finally voice what little concerns he had to someone. GIR had become a much more interesting character after that. 

"What did Zim say you had to watch me for?" 

GIR merely shrugged and flopped onto his back after turning his head back around. 

"Well, thank you for keeping me company, bud. I appreciate it." Dib sat next to GIR and patted his head. 

The pair sat for a while and stared at nothing. GIR was surprisingly quiet and somewhat distant. It could have been because of his damages, but Dib was curious if it was anything else. 

"Hey GIR? Monkey how do before squirrel climb tree?" 

GIR took a second before he answered. 

"Scury fnunkey show. Shoe know static? They friend."

Dib nodded. "Big squirrel in big tree forest?" 

GIR closed his eyes. "Bigongest tree foresss."

Dib hummed and gave GIR's head another soft pat. 

"I'm sorry. I know monkey scary. But big squirrel climb tree tough."

GIR opened his eyes and smiled. 

"Mooth fly light nice. Squirrel glad Mooth frien."

Dib chuckled and he stood.

"I'm glad we're friends, too. Come on, bud. Zim's probably waiting."

GIR nodded and took his hand as they made their way back to the cockpit. 

-X-

Once they were back in the cockpit, GIR was his normal self again. Jumping up and down and spinning around in the co-pilot seat while screaming. Zim didn't lift a finger to stop him, but he turned to look at Dib as he came through the door. Dib knew almost immediately that there was something… different about the alien. There was an air about him that didn't feel quite right. He looked too relaxed, yet his eyes were cold and calculating. They were glazed over like they were on planet Zorg, but this time they seemed to stay that way. Yet, despite his appearance, he smiled and waved Dib over. 

"Dib-beast. There you are. We'll be arriving on Irk soon. Good to see you're ready."

Dib walked cautiously over and looked Zim up and down. He still wore the cape, and his left antenna was still ruined. He still had the jagged scar over his eye, his hands were still completely numb, and he still sat in his seat like he already ruled the universe. Legs crossed and his elbows on both armrests. Dib wasn't sure what he was looking for as he searched the irken before him, but he hoped he could find the source of his new attitude. He did notice that the pink on his PAK was just a smidgen more red than he remembered. Or it could be a trick of the light, he wasn't sure. 

"Yeah. So what's the point in me dressing like this? I don't know that anyone would really care what I look like."

Zim raised a finger. "Precisely. You don't know. But they do. If you look like you even kind of belong, then you belong. Sure you'll get your shares of stares and sideways glances, but since you'll be with me, you should have nothing to worry about."

"Should? Or won't?" 

Zim shot an annoyed glance at Dib. 

"Should. If you fuck this up, then you WILL have something to worry about."

"Me? How could I fuck it up? I'm just going to be following you, right?" 

"I know you're stupid human curiosity gets you into trouble frequently. So yes, Dib. There's a greater chance of you fucking it up than me."

Dib huffed and said nothing more. He knew Zim was right again, so he decided not to argue. 

"So you mentioned that we were just going to be looking around? What exactly are we looking for?" 

Zim switched his leg placement and tapped his claws against the armrest. Dib received another look, and he took note of the small black pinpoints boring their way into his very soul. Dib found it mildly unsettling, but he was able to push it aside. 

"We're going to look at where Irk stands in relation to Operation Impending Doom Two."

"That's it?"

"Trust me, Dib, you don't want to stay on Irk longer than you have to."

"Well, I know that, but why do you want that information? What are you planning to do with it?" 

Zim smirked. "I told you, it's a surprise."

Dib sighed heavily. "Zim, you of all people know that I don't like surprises."

"Too bad. It's too good of a plan to spoil right now, so you're going to have to live with the suspense for a while."

Dib sighed again and gently nudged GIR aside so he could sit in the co-pilot seat. The two stared out at the stars flying by them in long silver streaks. Minutes turned into one hour, then two, then four. In that time, Dib had become bored and started to play tic tac toe on the floor with GIR. Zim remained in his seat, his gaze fixed on the far reaches of space in front of them. Finally, an alarm started to go off. 

"WARNING: PROXIMITY ALERT" 

Zim immediately pulled a lever that slowed the ship almost to a complete halt. Dib stood and leaned over the console and stared in awe at the planet before them. He could practically hear Zim's amused smile. 

"Welcome, Dib. Welcome to Irk."

-X-

Irk was pretty much how Dib had envisioned it, but it was also very different. He was right about it looking industrial, as evidenced by the large, dark buildings, but it was also full of life. The city was bustling and everyone seemed to have a place to be. There were large floating billboards advertising restaurants and different snack places. And, to Dib's surprise, there was even a little bit of nature sprinkled in. There were tall winding trees with thin bubblegum pink trunks and long spindly branches, and small fuchsia blades of grass poked out from between the cracks in the sidewalk. The sky was a soft cerise, and the clouds looked like cotton candy. It was both very beautiful and very menacing. The warm and soft pinks made the creepy buildings really pop and seem to tower over Dib. 

Zim was also right about the looks he got. He noticed that several irkens were curious about the strange alien being dragged around with one of them. He'd gotten tugged and pulled on, only to have Zim whip around and scare off the unwanted company by hissing and snapping his teeth at them. Zim had even gotten into a brief fight with someone, ending in the angry irken scurrying away after a well-placed swipe to the face. The whole ordeal had made Dib suddenly extremely uncomfortable and somewhat embarrassed. It definitely felt like Dib was something to be owned, and several people were fighting to do just that. Like he was some shiny expensive toy. But luckily Zim was able to fend off the attention fairly easily and quickly, so Dib felt he couldn't really complain. 

Zim lead Dib to a building and stopped to stare at it. Dib looked over and saw that he was staring at an extremely tall building surrounded by what looked to be an electric fence. There were guards posted just about everywhere, and Dib took an unnecessary step back.

"What kind of building is that?" 

"A smeetery. More specifically where they raise the young to be intelligence specialists."

"Huh. So there are separate smeeteries for different jobs?" 

Zim nodded. "The ones who become soldiers are hatched on military bases. The ones who become scientists are hatched near labs, and so on."

Zim stared at the building for an extra few minutes before he started to walk away, Dib in tow. The pair passed several more buildings before they finally came to a stop, which Dib was thankful for. The boots he was wearing were starting to chafe his feet horribly. He looked up just in time to see a large cage parked in front of a building. Dib tilted his head in an attempt to see inside. It looked like there were people inside. Some kind of goat-looking creature, a floating cone, and various other species of alien. 

"Hey, Zim? What's that for?" 

Zim hummed and looked over to where he was pointing. 

"Ah. That's a portable holding cell. Looks like they were caught just recently. They're on their way to Moo-Ping 10."

"How can you tell?" 

"They use special kinds of portable cells for that particular destination. Why? Because Moo-Ping 10 is a maximum security prison, and they have to make sure that no one can get in or out except staff and incoming prisoners." Zim turned his attention back to whatever screen he was looking at. 

"That goat-looking creature looks familiar. He looks like that one guy I've seen you talk to before? You know, the family you're holding hostage?" 

"He's probably Vortian then." Zim said without looking up. "I know that there's one who leads a resistance group called The Resisty."

"A resistance group?" Dib thought, tapping his chin. Suddenly, an idea struck him. 

"Why don't we free them?" 

Zim erupted into laughter. 

"Free them? That's rich, Dib. I didn't know that you were capable of such humor."

"Zim, I'm serious. If they are part of The Resisty, then it might not be such a bad thing. I mean, we're working against the Empire too, so it's not likely that they'd come after us, right? Hell, they might even help us." 

Zim chewed at his lip in thought. 

"Dib, I see where you're coming from. And if I'm being honest, it's the least stupid thing you've ever said. But that's not what we came here for. They got themselves captured, it's none of our concern."

"I know it's not what we came here for, but we could use some allies. As much as you think we can, we can't fight the entire Irken empire alone."

Zim looked to the large portable holding cell and groaned. 

"I'm not doing it so they can help us. We don't need any help, my plan will be enough. But it will cause an uproar, and that kind of sounds like fun."

"I guess that's fair?" Dib raised a brow. 

The cell suddenly started to hum and levitate off the ground before a large alien commanded by irken whip pulled it down the street, its huge feet causing a low rumble in the sidewalk. 

"Okay? So what's the plan?" Dib watched the cell disappear. 

"They're most likely going to take it to a transportation unit. And since capturing parts of The Resisty is a bit of a big deal, it's going to be made public. Unless we can get to the unit first."

Zim took Dib by the hand and quickly lead him toward the direction of the cell, while maintaining a good twenty foot distance. Once the cell was back in their view, Zim scanned the area, eyes darting around in seemingly random directions before they zeroed in on one. 

"There." 

Zim lead Dib further down the road, narrowly avoiding a big ship cruising by. Zim's antenna twitched until he sped off into an alleyway just as what looked like some kind of police ship rolled past them, sirens blaring. Zim dragged Dib to the back of the alleyway and through the other side. Once through, Zim darted to the left, expertly weaving through the growing crowd of irkens while Dib had clumsily bumped into several and received too many nasty looks to count. Zim then ducked into another alley and looked up. 

"Hold on tight, we're going up."

"Wait, what?" 

Dib had barely enough time to secure himself to the alien before he was lifted off the ground. Zim seemed to struggle slightly under the extra weight, the PAK legs digging into the buildings just to keep them upright. Luckily for them, the building they were climbing wasn't very high. Once they reached the top, there was a loud crack as Dib was lowered. 

"What was that?" 

Zim sighed. "My PAK is damaged from this stupid malfunction, I can't carry you anymore." 

The PAK legs sparked and jolted as they were returned to their compartments. 

"I can't do much with them anymore until they're fixed." Zim shook his head and started to slide down the building's glass roof, Dib close behind. 

The pair jumped from rooftop to rooftop, keeping the cell within their view. Zim eventually stopped to crouch, staring ahead at a large, grim-looking building. It loomed over the surrounding structures and was littered with guards and Irkens wearing some kind of uniform. Dib couldn't see clearly himself. He felt a chill go up his spine at the sight of it. 

"Is that the place?" 

Zim nodded and dragged Dib across the street. 

“Okay, so what do you need me to do?”

-X-

did duct into the adjacent alley and looked around quickly. Jumping from a trash can, he spotted a creature that looked like a Chihuahua and a raccoon had a baby. Dib cautiously approached the creature. he was careful but quick, and once the creature was in his reach, he swiped the creature by the scruff, and the animal squirmed and screeched in Dib's grasp. Almost desperate to get rid of it, Dib threw it into the street. The feral animal's sudden appearance seemed to startle the passers-by and everyone was trying to get away. The large cell was shaking as the animal guarded around the giant aliens feet, and whips doing very little to ease the panic. Eventually, the Giants were freed from their shackles in the scuffle, and we're chased down the street by the Irken masters. Dib saw Zim cross the street and make a quick work of the cell's locks. Did witnessed all the aliens previously held prisoner exit through the bars. Zim and the vortian exchanged a few words before they hurried their separate ways.

Zim crossed the street over to Deb and took his hand before the human had the chance to say anything and dragged him in the opposite direction.

"Wha- Where are we going?" 

"Away. The guards know their prisoners are loose. This way we can at least get ahead of them." 

Dib heard the sound of loud foreign-sounding sirens in the distance, and felt a chill go up his spine. The siren was ear-splitting loud and sounded very intimidating, even from further away. Zim yanked Dib's arm around a corner. Dib heard whatever vehicle the guards were riding crash against a wall chasing after them. The next turn, Zim and Dib narrowly avoided getting grabbed, sending their pursuers flying forward instead of turning.

"What's the plan? They'll be on our asses again in a second!" 

Dib and his free hand through his hair. Zim ground his teeth in thought. The sirens were beginning to get loud again, and Zim was clearly starting to panic. Dib looked around, and an idea struck him. Dib shoved them into a tight niche between a garbage can and the wall of a building. Zim only managed a few loud words of protest before Dib climbed onto the alien, clasping his hand over Zim's mouth just as the guards whizzed past them. Zim could smell the human so close to him. He could hear his heartbeat, feeling the hard pound of the organ through his fingers. The hand on his mouth was warm and smelled oddly... nice. Zim could practically smell the human's blood and bones through his hand. He could feel the pulse in his wrist and fought back the incredibly strong urge to bite. To feel the warm blood in his mouth and coating his tongue. He wondered if he could break the humans fingers with his teeth, and what it would sound like. To hear bones strain and splinter before it cracked and split. Zim suddenly found himself wanting to rip through the human's skin and help himself to the plentiful organs. He'd tasted human organs before and found that he rather liked it. It was a pleasant copper taste and they slid down his throat with great ease. Zim absent-mindedly began to open his mouth slowly like a Venus flytrap waiting to devour its dinner.

"I think they’re gone.” Did said suddenly, breaking them out of his stupor.

The delicious smelling appendage was removed from around Zim’s mouth, and Zim groaned in disappointment. However, Dib remain leaned over the alien, chest so close to his face. Zim’s claw twitched as he thought about how easy it would be to gorge himself here and now. Instead of acting on impulse, Zim begrudgingly squirmed in their little crevice in an attempt to leave.

“Great, you can get off me now.”

“Oh, right, sorry.”

Zim huffed and brushed off his uniform as the pair slid out of their hole.

"Thanks for getting us way off track by the way, Dib-stink." 

"What did we come here for again?" 

Zim sighed loudly. "I need to know where the Tallest are going so I know where to attack."

"Woah, attack? What the hell are you planning?" 

"Well since it is an attack we will need to make sure that we time this right, get it? Make sense?" 

Dib pursed his lips. "I guess so…"

"Good. Now let's go." 

Zim and dib made it their way cautiously down the street and around a couple of blocks. Dib could see that Zim kept his head on a constant swivel even when Dib was sure they were safe. However he decided not to question it, since Zim was more familiar with the territory than he was. Eventually they made their way to their destination with some ease, the confused glances and nasty glares from others never let up. Dib found he preferred it to getting so close to being thrown into jail with actual alien criminals that were able to kill him if they so much as looked at him a certain way. Zim lead dib to what looked like some kind of Irkin ATM. Zim punched in a few codes and pressed several buttons before a small hologram popped up.

"Oh good, it looks like they won't be busy for a while. We should be able to execute our plan without much of a problem." 

"'Without much of a problem'? You mean there's still kind of a problem?" 

Zim waved his hand dismissively. 

“Ah, It’s nothing to worry your puny human brain about. Forget I said anything.”

Dib narrowed his eyes at Zim who seemed to shift uncomfortably. Dib kept up the look, and surprisingly, the alien broke.

“It's just the slight delay in making this new weapon, and now the Resisty are on the loose. They don’t exactly approve of me, you know.”

“Even after you freed them?”

Zim nodded.

“Me freeing them changes nothing about their hatred towards the empire. I fear... I fear they might insert themselves into the way of our plans.”

Dib sighed. He knew he’d eventually have to deal with Zim being overly paranoid at some point, he was just never looking forward to it.

“Look. I’m sure the Resisty have an agenda of their own. I don’t really see them crossing our paths so soon. Try to let it go.”

Zim fidgeted with the fingers of his gloves and chewed at his lip. He nodded without saying anything.

“However, who says they can’t be of any help?”

Zim looked at the human quizzically, and Dib sighed again.

“They’ve been here a while, maybe they know something about Operation impending doom two.”

Zim tapped his chin and looked back at the human. Unfortunately, he could have a point.

“Fine. But we’re not going to involve ourselves with them at all after this.”

Dib shrugged. “Fine. Let’s see if we can find them.”

-X-

Almost as soon as Dib caught up with the small group, they ducked behind a large parked vehicle. They heard the deafening wails of sirens blaring by on the street behind them, and Dib sighed with relief. He looked over at the three new faces added to the Zim and Dib duo. One was definitely Vortian. Maybe some kind of researcher or scientist. Dib had no idea what race the other two belonged to. One was a big floating mauve and silver cone with a silly face, and the other looked like a slug had grown limbs. 

“Who are you? Why would you free us?” 

Zim scoffed and thumbed at Dib. “Ask him. It was HIS idea. I personally would have left you all to rot on Moo-Ping 10.”

The Vortian turned to Dib, expecting a further explanation. Dib looked around and saw passing Irkens beginning to stare. Dib cleared his throat.

"M-Maybe we could discuss this in a more private setting? Or at least make us look less suspicious?" 

Zim poked his head out of their hiding place, surveying the area around them. He motioned for them to follow when he deemed it safe to pass. Zim lead them to an open area. Dib compared it to some kind of park, but there was nothing really there. There didn't look to be any benches or anywhere to sit but the ground. There were small hills adorned with tall royal purple grass in small magenta flowers. If dib didn't know any better, he'd say it was beautiful. Yet he knew which planet they were on, and knew that it was anything but. Zim led the small group to an area shaded by thick plum trees.

"There, happy?" Zim leaned against a tree, arms crossed. 

Dib shook his head and it turned to the three new faces. The Vortian looked impatient while the other two just looked uncomfortable.

"You have yet to answer my question, strange creature. Why did you decide to free us?" the Vortian demanded. 

"Well for one, we're currently working against the Tallest. And Zim here-" Dib gestured to the irritated irken "-told me about the Resisty who do the same thing."

"So you thought we could fight together?" 

"Well, I'd hoped. But you don't seem too interested."

"Don't get me wrong, strange creature-" 

"Dib. Just… call me Dib."

The Vortian gave him a strange look before he rolled his eyes and continued.

"Don't get me wrong, DIB. I'm relieved for there to be another who works against the empire. However, the Resisty are very few in number comparatively speaking. I don't think we would be of much help." 

Dib nodded. The answer sucked, but it's honestly what he was expecting.

" But we can at least thank you for freeing us. For that, The Resisty does owe you one. We can't do much yet, but whatever you need, we will do our damnedest."

At this, Zim's antenna perked. 

"Actually, there is something. The only reason we're on the planet's surface is because we're trying to gather intel. What do you know about the current status of operation Impending Doom 2?" 

The Vortian chuckled. " Well, it's a good thing you Irkens just love to talk, because I do know a little something."

Zim straightened himself, his antenna leaning forward to listen. 

"Operation Impending Doom 2 is starting to draw to a close. Deployed irken soldiers are starting to return, telling all in earshot about their success. The tallest are beginning to make preparations for returning as well. From the sounds of it, it's going to be quite the spectacle."

" Anyone say anything about their current whereabouts?"

The Vortian frowned in thought. 

"Nowhere concrete, just vague descriptions. Last I heard, their latest conquered planet was Corton 58, wherever that is. But that was just short of a month ago. So they could be anywhere by now." 

"Wait. Couldn't the Space Ghost find the armada's flightplan like you did that one time?" 

Zim shook his head. 

"Obtaining the armada's flight plan requires a tremendous amount of power. I was only successful because of my bases location and the enormous supply of energy. The Space Ghost doesn't have nearly enough. But what it does have is top-of-the-line navigation and tracking technology. Normally these would be used for targeting other ships with the purpose of firing weapons, but if I can rearrange some things and broaden the navigation, I might be able to pin the massive location if we can get close enough to their last known location near Corton 58."

Zim looked at the Vortian." We thank you for your assistance."

With that, Zim was off. Dib, however, stayed behind. 

"So what if the Resisty? You don't have a ship anymore, how will you get back? Who are you guys exactly?" 

The Vortian smiled, sharp teeth colored yellow and sat in onyx gums. 

"You have many questions, don't you Dib? I can't exactly answer in great detail, or we'd be here for hours. Plus, I worry your irken friend may leave you behind. However, if it interests you, the Resisty reside on meecrob it's one of the few planets the Empire has yet to conquer many times and failed. And don't worry about us. We can get back home. You should get going, though, before they find you. I wish you luck on your mission, Dib."

Dib smiled and waved goodbye to the trio before swiftly joining his own partner in crime. As the pair made their way across the large clearing, Dib finally found himself hopeful for the future. He could practically smell the adventures that awaited him once this was all over. He could join the Resisty and fight alongside them. He could travel space to his heart's content and help change the course of history for various species, even if Zim wouldn't join him. Or maybe he would with enough convincing. As dib settled into the co-pilot seat, he smiled softly as the engine roared to life, shaking the walls as they took off into the sky once more, and for the first time since they started this mission, Dib felt strangely at home. However, as soon as Dib was beginning to lose consciousness in his seat, Zim dropped the biggest bomb thus far. 

"I'm going to kill them, Dib. I'm going to kill the Tallest and their hideous empire."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait!! School and mental shit have been insane and I haven't gotten the chance to write much. Ch. 7 might take a while, but I do hope for your patience, loves! In the meantime, please enjoy Ch 6 in its entirety! I'll try to get Ch 7 out as soon as I can.


	7. Bloody Hands and Overwhelming Griefs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So the day has finally come. Infiltration of the massive. Will it go exactly as planned? Or will there be a horrifying twist of fate?

Dib had never really been one for raising his voice. Sure, when he was much younger, it was fun and somewhat therapeutic. Now it just felt frustrating and annoying. Yet it seemed to be the only way to get the fuming alien to listen. Dip would not let up until Zim changed his mind. To his surprise, Dib wasn't angry at the alien for wanting to kill the Tallest. If anything, he was supportive. No, he was angry because if this plan were to fail, they would both be killed. Zim didn't seem to care about this, which only added fuel to Dib's fire. Zim was still very young in working years, and Deb still had tons of Adventures to go on in the depths of space. When this had been brought up, Zim had merely dismissed it and described it as "insignificant in the grand scheme of things". It would only take a few weeks before they caught up with the Armada thanks to Zim's modifications, and The pair continued to heckle and were constantly at each other's throats.

Two weeks of incessant bickering really wore down Dib's patience with the alien. so much so that he had started to neglect his own personal needs out of pure spite. Zim hated it when he didn't shower, shave, or clean his clothes with anything but air fresheners, as he found the smell to be foul and "entirely too strong". Zim also hated that dib now refused to eat in his presence, thinking that the stupid human had begun starving himself(even though that wasn't true). Dib had grown into a sick sense of satisfaction of seeing the alien genuinely angry, nothing like the playful anger that used to share. Because of this, Zim had begun to grow more and more on edge, feeling that he could no longer trust the only other two entities on the ship. He'd even deactivated GIR, only switching him on when he needed him to run an errand. By the third week, Zim became uncomfortably distant and unresponsive. Even the usual triggers for fights didn't seem to rile him up anymore. Dib couldn't even clearly remember the last time Zim's antenna wasn't firmly pressed against his skull. His eyes were always glazed and unfocused, like he was somewhere completely different. However, perhaps the most alarming change was that the pods on Zim's PAK We're no longer bubblegum pink, but a bright and angry crimson.

Of course, Dib had no idea what that meant, so he didn't really question it. He knew he'd never get a straight answer from Zim either, so he never asked. Even as he sat in his untidy bed, speaking to a familiar face on his tablet, Dib thought about it. Wondered, hypothesized, but came up with no solution.

"I see." Skoodge picked at his rubber glove like he wasn't interested. The alien on screen sighed heavily and straightened in his seat.

" that really is quite a problem. But Deb. I don't know if you know this, but Zim has already killed two tallest in the past. Tallest Spork and tallest Miyuki were both killed by one of them's experiments. Granted, those were both accidents, but it's really no surprise that he's gotten a taste for it."

Dib shook his head. "Skoodge, This is different. He's acting... weird. He won't even look at me anymore. He turned off his SIR unit. Please, Scoodge. He's going to get himself killed." 

"Irkens do not fear death, Dib. I think you're more worried about dying than Zim."

Dib chewed his lip. While it was true he didn't want to die at age 20, he also knew that space travel would never be the same without Zim. The alien had become so engrained into Dib's existence, that Dib couldn't imagine a life without him. To have a normal life full of normal everyday problems. To have a stable job with a girlfriend seemed so out of place and strange. Dib craved adventure, and Zim had always provided him with just that.

"For once, that's not true. Zim and I might not always see eye-to-eye, but I do care about him, Scoodge. And I know you do too." 

Skoodge sighed and tapped a claw against his arm rest as he leaned back.

"Yes, you're right Dib. I do still care about him. I know I shouldn't, but it can't be helped. So fine, I will help you with this. But this is going to be the last time, do you hear? I'm not about these kinds of dangerous things. Not to mention if I didn't, you've just made me equally responsible for the tallest death if Zim's plan does work. So thanks for that."

Dib felt himself smile. "Thank you so much, Skoodge. I don't know how I could ever repay you." 

"Just make sure Zim doesn't die, okay? That's all I ask." 

Dib nodded. "We're getting close to the Armada now. Please hurry."

With that, Skoodge hung up, leaving dib to stare at his reflection on the black screen. God, he looked like shit. Dark circles hung heavily under his eyes, and his hair had grown longer and greasier, sticking together in disgusting in clumps that held thin clouds of dandruff. They hadn't made any stops for resources in the last few weeks, and Dib had long run out of self care products. Dib set up and rubbed his eyes, looking around his room. He spotted his journal and picked it up. He skimmed through the pages until there was one that caught his eye. Dib read the page several times before he felt something click in his brain. The familiar feeling of "eureka!" that he so desperately needed. Dib quickly tore the page from the book and raced out of his quarters to the cockpit.

Zim stared out of the window into the depths of space. He felt the familiar tingle of anticipation as they inch closer and closer to the Armada. It wouldn't be long now. Soon he could get his revenge, and this entire miserable trip would be worth it. He could taste his victory, smell it, touch it. The thought of it alone was enough to make his skin prickle with excitement. His greatest challenge yet was about to rear its head. So focused, he didn't register the cockpit doors his open and the sound of angry footsteps before a piece of paper was slammed against the console in front of him.

Zim looked down at the paper, then to the intruder. Ah, the Dib. Probably looking to start another fight.

"How do you plan on getting into the Massive?" Dib asked accusingly. 

Well, he certainly wasn't expecting that. 

"Don't be stupid. The jammer in this thing is unlike any other. They'll have no choice but to let us pass. Especially with the modifications I've made."

Dib flipped the paper over to reveal writing, but Zim refused to look down at it.

"Well clearly you didn't account for this." 

The thought of Zim missing anything made him curious enough to frown and snatch the paper away from Dib and look it over. It was difficult to read the humans frantic and atrocious handwriting, but from what he was able to gather, they were notes on the tallest and some of Zim's past wrongdoings. Reading further, the human writes of the fact that Zim is wanted and hated by not only Irken's, but several races.

"Besides reminding me of the whole reason I started this mission, I assume you have some kind of further explanation?" 

"Zim, if you're wanted by people other than the tallest, and if Scoodge had warned them like he said he would, wouldn't the tallest take the extra precaution?"

Zim finally looked up at Dib, an incredulous look on his face. 

"Are you insinuating that the tallest are smart enough to enlist the help of races I've already angered? Please. They're entirely too prideful. Even if Skoodge had warned them, they think they can take me themselves. I'm small, which is an advantage. If I were any taller, then maybe. But there's hardly any reason for them to believe Skoodge anyway for the same reason. He's smaller than I am."

"How could you possibly know that? You're taking a huge gamble that has the potential for totally avoidable consequences. You might have a fancy jammer, but how is that going to help you if the numbers are too great for it to keep up? What if they have someone aboard a ship who can remotely deactivate it? I can't believe you'd be stupid enough to miss this gigantic red flag!"

" Whoever said I missed it?"

Dib frowned deeply. "What? You didn't even know what you were reading a minute ago!" 

"Dib, I am fully aware of my role of banishment and the fact that I'm wanted. By races nastier than my own, mind you. I have no reason to be worried about them. Because they hate the Empire as much as they hate me. Why would they help the tallest if they hate them?"

" Oh, I don't know, for the mutual benefit of killing you? Zim, I don't think you're taking this seriously. It's not just your life on the line here!"

Zim chuckled and turned back towards the window. 

"That has been a threat the entire mission, Dib. Why now is it something you're worried about?" 

Dib pulled at his hair in frustration. 

"Because this is an entire fucking FLEET of ships we're hours from waltzing into!" 

"Those ships on Bleep-Blorp were armed."

"For fuck's sake, you KNOW what I mean. This is so stupid, even for you."

"Why don't you leave then, Dib?" 

Dib's next words froze in his throat, and his blood ran cold. Zim seemed to sense his hesitation and chuckled again.

"You've been able to leave since we got this ship, it has escape pods. You know that. And you know I wouldn't have stopped you, being as I didn't want you on this mission to begin with." 

Dibs felt the sudden strong urge to vomit. Not just the contents of his stomach, but some serious horrible words. He wanted to curse Zim with every fiber of his being. He wanted to grab the nearest blunt object and beat him inches from death with it. Yet Dib found himself unable to move or speak. His stomach was doing flips and his blood felt like lava coursing through his veins. As his words were caught in his throat. Deep down, Dib knew he was able to leave. They'd both watched as Skoodge came and went, and he could have stayed at any planet they stopped at. Dib wasn't an idiot. But looking back on it now, they had already been through so much already that leaving hadn't even crossed his mind

"But if I'm being honest, Dib-worm. I'm actually glad you stuck your disgusting nose in."

Dib felt surprise punch him in his gut. 

"Wh… What?" 

Zim gave him an amused smile and repeated himself. 

"I'm glad you're here. This Mission would have gone completely different if I had been on my own." 

Dib was lost for words again. It was the first time in his memory that Zim actually genuinely thanked him for something. Zim chuckled at Dib's confusion and turned back to the console.

"You're making it sound like you're going to die." Dib half-whispered. 

"We might. But if we kill the Tallest in the process, I'd say that it would be worth it, wouldn't it?" 

"...Maybe." 

"We're two hours away from the Armada, and I've disguised our signal so they'll read us as an innocent merchant ship. Now that's not a guarantee that they won't blow us up. They really like doing that, blowing stuff up. It gets boring in space sometimes. Anyway, they'll hail us because we'd be too close for comfort. They'll recognize me on the spot, so I need you to convince them to let us pass through the fleet. Once we're close enough to the center, I will activate the jammer. The modifications I made will allow us to be able to use our escape pods to get on board the massive, not to mention block their weapons systems and shields. It should be a smooth crossing." 

"Should be?" 

"The jammer isn't perfect, Dib. The massive is the most advanced piece of Irken equipment. Every chance this plan has of succeeding, it has an equal chance of blowing up in our faces. Both figuratively and literally."

Dib took a second to weigh his options. On one hand, this was a totally ridiculous plan that was doomed to fail from the start. They were pathetically outnumbered and out-gunned. If this went south, then they were also at a severe technological disadvantage. Dib had no idea what the inside of the ship looked like, and barely knew enough Irken to get by. The Space Ghost was in a state of disrepair and extremely susceptible to further damage. Yet on the other hand, Dib had learned to begrudgingly trust Zim's handiwork. Sure his plans on Earth always ended up in failure, but his tech was always legitimately dangerous and well-crafted. Not to mention that when Zim was this dead-set on a plan, it was near impossible to kick him off it. The cons certainly outweighed the pros in this situation, but Dib felt himself growing strangely confident in this plan. It was stupid and dangerous and would likely fail, but what made that any different from any of their past adventures? Dib could have easily perished in one of those, but luck had always been on his side. 

"Okay that's great, but what about when we actually get on the ship? I don't think they're going to like the fact that we'd be there. We also have no weapons."

Zim grinned. "Oh, Dib-human. Still just a stupid little worm baby. Of course we do."

"Come again?" 

"You forgot already? I made something with the leftover Zorgian metals you mentioned we had. I've been working on it for weeks."

"But didn't you say we needed materials from Irk to finish it? We didn't grab any."

"Says who? Dib, you severely underestimate the sticky fingers an irken has. Especially a small one no one pays any mind to. You have eyeball enhancers, I figured you would have seen it."

"Okay fine. But Zim, we were split up some of the time, I guess you could have grabbed anything. Anyway, that's not the point. What did you make?" 

"I'm glad you asked."

A port from Zim's PAK hissed open and a long metal arm dropped a small device into the alien's waiting hands. It was a little metallic square with a few tiny buttons on it. It was extremely anticlimactic to say the least, and Dib felt his shoulders drop from the disappointment. 

"That… That's it? That took weeks to make?" 

Zim held up a finger. 

"Don't knock it just yet, Dib. This little thing packs a mean punch." 

"Okay, you got my attention. What does it do?" 

"This thing is actually two things in one. It can unlock sealed doors, and is also a powerful explosive."

"And you're okay with just keeping something like that in your PAK?" 

Zim rolled his eyes. "I don't think you fully understand the PAK's design, Dib. And I don't have the time nor patience to explain it to you."

The device was returned to its port. 

"Maybe when we make it out of this, you can." Dib said hopefully. 

Zim chuckled again. 

"Perhaps." Zim turned to face the window. "The next couple of hours are going to be a dangerous gamble for your life, Dib. I hope you're ready for that." 

Dib nodded. Because he was. He had strangely never felt more confident about any other dangerous plan the alien had come up with. The fleet of ships was within view now, and Dib was sure that they already knew They were there. Zim turned to Dib and gave him a smile. A smile that was so determined and sure, Dib couldn't help but feel the same.

"You ready?" 

"Damn straight. Let's do this."

-X-

The journey up to the Armada was both gut-wrenching and intriguing. The ship's accompanying the massive were a bit smaller than Dib had expected. For an Empire so feared, the Armada felt... smaller. The thought of it was almost enough to make Dib laugh. How hilariously fitting. Zim tapped a few buttons on the console and turned to Dib. 

"The transmission is ready to go through. Just press that button, and more than likely they'll answer you and ask why we're so close. That screen over there we'll translate everything they're saying. Do you have a plan for what you're going to say, Dib? Keep in mind, that the tallest might not be the universe's smartest leaders, but they're certainly not stupid. They just like to blow stuff up. So give them a reason to not do that." 

"Noted, Zim, thank you. Trust me, I got this."

Dib dismissed. He was certain that if the tallest were anything like Zim, he's have no problem convincing them. 

With a nod and a wave of his hand, Zim put himself out of sight. Dib took a deep breath and pressed the button after cutting off the engine. He felt his heartbeat quicken as he anticipated the tallest to answer. Eventually the screen beeped, and the feared leaders were on screen. The purple one looked confused as he chewed at some donuts, while the red one looked irritated.

"Who the hell are you and why are you so close to us? Are you looking for a fight, punk?" 

The irken language sounded so intimidating, Dib almost cowered. He hadn't heard anything in irken in a very long time. He couldn't even remember the last time Zim had spoken it in front of him. 

Dib cleared his throat and tried to look more confident than he was by standing straighter and putting a hand behind his back, gesturing with his free hand as he spoke. 

"Greetings, mighty Irkens! I come in peace! You see, my ship is damaged from a recent run-in with a former colleague, and my engines are down. I only ask that you grant a safe passage."

The tallest exchanged confused glances, and the red one spoke again. 

"Why should we? I've never seen your kind in this sector before. What planet are you from?"

Fuck. Dib didn't even consider backstory. Of course they'd ask about his origin, Irkens are very paranoid creatures and aren't exactly fond of new faces. Dib mentally slapped himself and focused. Okay. He racked his brains to think of a planet he’s heard Zim mention that would be believable. He couldn't exactly say Earth since the tallest knew Zim was sent there, and they might recognize the name. Suddenly, a lightbulb turned on overhead. 

“I come from planet Zorg. I come as a simple merchant.’’

“Yeah we can see that. Strange, I didn't think Zorg had a BS-200. Must be a new addition. I forget that they're always welcoming new races. Vile beings...just wait until they taste some real irken firepower.”

The red tallest looked down at Dib like he just noticed the human standing there. 

“Very well, we will let you pass. On the condition that Zorg be ruled under the empire.”

“Of course. That planet has caused me nothing but trouble as you can see. Destroy it if you want, I couldn't care less about that mud ball.” 

The tallest giggled manically to each other. Dib figured appealing to their destructive nature would be the best route to take. 

“Excellent. Safe travels, hideous merchant.”

With that, the transmission ended, and Zim came out of hiding. 

“Holy shit you actually did it. I’m impressed, Dib. “

Dib smirked. “Did you doubt me?”

“Duh. I didn't expect you to throw Zorg under the bus like that - smart.”

"Well if you're going to kill them anyway, them they're never going to have the chance, right?"

Zim chuckled softly and looked out the window to the approaching fleet. As they inched closed, Dib heard Zim sigh. 

"Something on your mind? You're not getting cold feet, are you?"

"What? No, Zim's feet are plenty warm! It's just... ugh. The closer we get to the end of the mission, I can't help but wonder. What's going to become of us? I mean, this mission has changed our lives both positively and negatively. And we've both been through so much already. Whatever comes next is never going to be the same again."

Zim's expression had a genuine melancholy look to it. It would have made Dib's heart sink if it wasn't for the small glint of hope in those raspberry eyes. Dib felt himself smile, and he leaned against the console. 

"Careful, Zim. It's starting to sound like you care. Anyways, I don't think it'll be too different. I mean, you're still so tiny and small."

He could practically see Zim's skin prickle at the jab. 

"Wha- Why would you bring that up NOW?!"

Dib giggle. "Because it's true, you idiot! Just because we went on this mission together doesn't mean our dynamic has to change! When all this is said and done, we can go back to chasing each other around town like we used to."

Zim huffed and stared out the window once more. 

"I guess..." 

Suddenly, the ship came to a halt and Zim smiled. 

"Let's kick some ass, human."

"Right behind you, space boy." 

-X-

Blinding red lights flickered and a loud, unfamiliar sounding alarm blared as Zim and Dib took off down the hallway, leaving a bloody, gorey mess of irken bodies in the hangar bay. Dib had been given a gun in the pod. It was the gun stolen form Zorg, but it was modified to be smaller and more lightweight while holding onto its intense firepower. Though Dib refused to use it unless there was no other choice. The pair turned sharply around a corner and we're met with two irken guards, Zim wasted no time on attacking. Before he even care eto a full stop, a long metal leg sprung from its compartment and skewered one of the guards straight through their stomach, spraying thick, pink irken blood everywhere. Once that guard hit the ground, Zim pounced on the other one, sinking his teeth into the flesh and digging his claws deep into skin and pulled. The flesh ripped and bones were crushed under his intense grip. Strange wire attached to the irken's spine were ripped out and discarded. The guard fell,chiming and gurgling on the blood that quickly filled their throat while thrashing about wildly from the pain. Dib could see the tough muscle surrounding dense, sturdy bone. The sight of it alone was almost enough to make him second guess working with Zim, had it not been for the afformentioned alien urging him to follow, effectively snapping Dib out of his stupor. Dib quickly scrambled to his feet and followed Zim down another hallway, trying to distract himself from his partner's blood-stained face. 

As they neared the main control room, they became surrounded by guards. Zim had begun to right tooth and nail alongside Dib. Blood was spattered and limbs were thrown about carelessly. Dib could hear the loud continous snapping of bone and tearing of flesh along with the familiar sound of dropping bodies which took Dib right back to Zorg. His body continued to move as if on autopilot, and all of a sudden his scars began to itch and burn with the memory of how they got there. He could feel the metal tearing through his skin again, the familiar sting and sudden rush of adrenaline to mask the pain were starting to become too much to bear--

Then fire in his shoulder. Dib felt himself hit the ground and a decent tstream of blood oozed down his arm. He heard someone call his name, but he was so far away, he wasn't sure if he'd ever come back. He wasn't sure he wanted to. What was out there for him anyway? A lifetime of constantly trying to impress and protect others knowing it to be a fruitless task? No one asked for his protection. In their eyes, he was crazy and belonged in an institution. Even his own family was no exception. There was only one person he never had to work to impress, who yes, thought he was crazy, but in a much more playful sense. Someone who was there when no one else was. The only golden constant. Inch by inch, Dib was able to will himself back into reality.

"There you are! I thought you straight up died or something!" 

Zim helped Dib sit up, and only then did Dib register the intense throbbing pain in his shoulder, causing him to groan from the pain. 

"Yeah, you were shot, you idiot. What were you thinking? We have a job to do and you decide to go on vacation? That's not how this works, Dib."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, okay? I don't really know what happened either." 

"Ugh, human brains are pathetic primal mush. Come on, get up."

Dib slowly got to his feet and took a breath. As Zim was brushing himself off, Dib noticed one of the irkens on the ground began to move and move weakly over to a discarded weapon. Once the weapon was in their hand, Dib drew his own gun and fired it, the beam splitting the guard’s head in half. Zim looked to Dib, then behind him at the now fully dead irken guard. Zim shook his head and started walking away. 

“Anyway, we need to keep moving. We're sitting ducks out here. Hurry up and get over your time waster.” 

“Shit. How much time did I waste?” 

“Only a couple of minutes. But during trying times, that’s time we can’t afford to waste.”

The pair scurried down the twisting hallways, Dib limping close behind. Finally, they made it to the Grand doors after picking off all the guards that got in their way. 

“Are they in there?” Dib asked, panting and grasping his wound. 

“Dib, you insolent fool boy, of course they're in there.” 

The boy rolled his eyes as Zim grabbed something out of his PAK, and held it up - the small explosive. Zim put the chip against the door’s panel. The screen glitched and flickered before presenting a broken irken symbol and the door's hissed open. Zim entered the room, and before Dib could follow suit, the doors closed in his face. 

“Um, Zim? The doors closed, let me in.” He said, confused. 

“Thank you for your assistance, Dib, but I can take it from here.” 

Dib was dumbfounded, staring at the alien mouth agape. 

“Are you fucking kidding me? We came this far and you're just gonna leave me alone out here?!” 

“It's nothing personal, human. You're injured anyway, so you'd only show me down. Not to mention your chances of death are significantly higher. Take this as protection.” 

“Fuck that! I'd rather take my chances in there! At least I would die putting up a fight with these guys instead of cowering behind titanium doors!” 

Zim backed away from the doors, explosive in hand. Dib pounded on the doors in an attempt to convince Zim to open them, but to no avail. Zim turned his back to the door and smiled as he gazed at the familiar control room. The room he'd always seen through a screen. Now finally he was here in person. It felt surreal. They couldn't control him anymore. Not even while they were standing right before him. He knew this was a fight to the death, and his claws itched to dig into the tallest flesh and tear them apart with his bare hands. 

“I'll be honest, Zim. I never thought we'd be meeting in person again.” said Red. 

“You've finally gotten taller. Good for you.” He continued. 

The very words ever irken dreamed to hear was spoken with O's much venom dripping from it that Zim was genuinely surprised that he took it as an insult. Zim merely scoffed and touched a few buttons on a panel. Toying with prey was always satisfying. 

“What do you want? Why come all this way just to die?” Asked Purple. 

He seemed a little more on edge than Red did. Good. Zim wanted even one of them to squirm. He knew he had Purple under his thumb already. 

“Isn't it obvious? I'm rebelling. I'm here with one goal in mind.” Zim shot them a hard stare and wide toothy grin. “I'm here to kill you both.” 

This made Red howl with laughter. Purple however didn't seem to think it was funny. 

“Really? That's your big plan? To kill us? Another tallest will amend our place even if you DO succeed. Are you going to kill every tallest that takes our place? Oh Irk, Zim, we were so right to send you away for your raging stupidity.” 

“You talk too much. And don't worry. I have plans after you die. You'll see. I just need you both out of my way first. “ 

Zim could feel the air tense with an incoming bloody battle. One that he was more than ready for. 

-X-

Zim managed to dodge the blasts fired at him from the tallest PAKs with ease. They were certainly out of practice. But Zim was not. He was an elite soldier, and he never let himself get out of practice. Zim guessed all the sparring he did with Dib kept him that way. Zim latched onto Purple's face and started clawing his eyes out. He wanted to make sure that Purple was completely blind. He felt the fluid from the eyes seep into his gloves and even flew into his mouth. And Zim enjoyed every second of the beautiful screams. Zim suddenly felt hands grasp his PAK and pulled, Zim crying out with surprise, but not before digging a metal PAK leg into Red’s shoulder. Zim pinned Red to the ground and began stabbing him repeatedly. A blind rage crept into his very core. A primal rage that Zim couldn't control. A new sensation of rebellion. It was oddly freeing. He just wanted to stab the tallest on the ground until he was physically exhausted. 

The fight was long and bloody after Purple recovered in record time from the blow to his eyes. Zim even sustained some semi-major injuries himself. PAK legs flew and claws scratched as teeth gnashed. In the end, Zim came out victorious, and now the Tallests lay before him a bloody mess. Zim panted as he waited for his blinding rage to finally subside. He glanced over to the door and saw Dib in the window, his eyes wide and full of fear. Zim felt himself smile. He liked seeing the human cower. Humans were always so fragile. But this time it was different. This time he felt a pang of guilt stab him square in the chest. That guilt hurt more than any of his injuries thus far. Zim looked away, confused at this new feeling. He stepped in front of a panel on the main console and brought up a hologram of Irk. He stared at it in silence before pressing a button to the loudspeaker. 

"I've been patient. Earth has taught me to be. It has also taught me to be creative and have a keen eye with my head on a constant swivel. Of course, those were already seeds planted into my memory bank, but on EARTH. They finally bloomed into a beautiful reality. So I must thank not just the Tallest for that at least. But now the time has come for my plan to come to fruition. And let me tell you what that is, Dib. I am going to destroy Irk with the massive. This ship has more than enough power to do it. I'm sorry I didn't get to tell you about it sooner. I had to make sure I could still trust you." Zim felt his smile widen. "And the good news is that I can. So thank you for being someone I can trust. Truly I am thankful."

Zim let go of the button and pressed a few keys on the console that made the massive hum to life. Out of the corner of his eye, Zim saw Dib pounding on the window again. This time he was crying. It was almost enough to make Zim reevaluate his options. But he found himself smiling at the human as he pressed the button to fire. 

The walls shook violently with the firepower of the ship. The beam shot out into the depths of space, but on screen, Zim could see the planet in relation to the shot. Any second now. In seconds, Irk would be no more. Zim felt the anticipation prickle his skin. Finally. After so long, he was finally going to win. He heard the hiss of a door open and barely had enough time to turn around before he was tackled to the ground. Zim felt his head hit the floor and he suddenly saw stars. He felt punches land on his cheeks and he just took them. 

"YOU IDIOT! THAT WAS MILLIONS OF PEOPLE YOU JUST MURDERED! CHILDREN YOU KILLED! PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T EVEN LIVED THEIR LIFE YET!" 

Zim recognized his attacker's voice as the Dib's. Ah, so he made it through after all. Of course he was mad. Zim knew that he would be. Dib stopped punching enough for Zim to speak. 

"I thought you were against the empire. The fish rots from the head down doesn't it? I simply cut the head off. No big deal." 

Zim looked back at the screen just in time to see the beam strike the planet surface. The pair watched as it began to crack and disintegrate as it floated away into the depths of space. 

"What have you done, Zim…?" Dib asked softly, choking on the lump in his throat. 

"It had to happen, human. They were going to come after me. Come after Earth. I couldn't let that happen."

"How could you have possibly known that? They left you on Earth to get rid of you, why would they ever inconvenience themselves in your presence?" 

Zim felt a chill shoot down his spine. It was a sudden spark of rage, and it was enough for him to quickly sink his claw into the hole in the human's shoulder and pull which sent Dib scrambling backwards. Dib took in Zim's ruined features. The swollen cheeks and bloodied… everything. He was soaked in the stuff. 

"Don't EVER. Talk to me that way. I won, Dib, I finally won. I broke free from my coding, you should be HAPPY for me as my friend."

Dib laughed in disbelief. 

"HAPPY for you? You just committed mass homicide! How could you possibly ask me to support that?!" 

Dib began to pace around the room, muttering under his breath as Zim got to his feet and brushed off his uniform. He watched the Dib closely, paying attention to his mannerisms and trying to decipher what he was doing. He watched him run his hands through his hair and crouch before standing again to continue pacing. Zim's antenna twitched as a wave of anger suddenly struck. 

"Why is it such a big deal to you? I destroyed the empire! Something that we spent MONTHS planning for!" 

Dib stopped pacing and looked over at the alien. 

"No Zim, this was something YOU spent months planning. You told me you were just going to kill the Tallests!" 

"Lies! I wanted to blow up the sun first! Which would have destroyed Irk in the process! It was my plan since the beginning, Dib! You just don't listen!" 

Dib was taken aback. Of course it was. Dib had been played this entire trip. He looked out the window at the emptiness of space and sighed. 

"This isn't what I signed up for."

"You didn't sign up at all, you injected yourself into it. And whether you like it or not, this is the outcome, Dib."

"I didn't think you'd actually do it. Then you built that cannon…"

"Have you ever known my plans to be a lie?" 

Zim waited for an answer, but the longer he didn't receive one, the longer he was able to think. And the realization hit him hard. 

"It was you, wasn't it? You destroyed my cannon, didn't you?" 

Dib looked away, which told Zim all he needed to hear. 

"We poured everything we had into it. Why? Dib, we bonded over that thing." 

At that, Dib scoffed and turned back to the alien. 

"Why would I ever bond with you? You're just a tiny evil alien who I've made my life's mission to stop. You'll never change as long as you live. I hate you, Zim. I always have." 

Zim felt the anger well in his chest. The strange yet powerful emotion of betrayal completely took over the alien. Tears flowed from his eyes as PAK legs sprung from their compartments and were sent straight through the human's abdomen. He watched as Dib gasped for air and stumbled backwards. Blood gushed from the wound, and Zim could even see his organs once the leg was removed. Zim felt his lips quiver as he struggled to contain his tears. 

"I never wanted to hurt you, Dib. All I wanted was some support from the only thing keeping me going. I… I respected you. Admired you. How for something so fragile, you took a hell of a beating and kept going. You brought this on yourself, Dib, I hope you know that.”

Dib continued gasping for breath as he fell face first on the floor, the blood beginning to pool around him. Zim felt a flurry of feelings rush over him, making the alien grab his head in confusion. He knew exactly how unstable he was, which made this process so much harder. He wished he couldn’t feel anything. He wished he was as cold and calculating as his brethren. But he knew he could never be like them. He was defective. Yes, defective. Zim turned back to the large window and stared out into space. He could see the Armada around him and he hummed to himself. He’d have to destroy them if his plan were to come to pass. They were still knocked out with the jammer after all. It wouldn’t be hard. Just a press of a few simple buttons should do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! 
> 
> I've been dealing with a lot of mental issues lately and I've just lacked the motivation.
> 
> But I'm doing better now and Ch 8 is now a work in progress! 
> 
> Thank you so so much for your patience, you have no idea how much I appreciate it and I hope you enjoyed ch 7! <3


	8. Skoodge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skoodge lands on the planet Meekrob in order to seek help from the Resisty. There, he meets Lard Nar who decides to help him stop Zim once and for all.

Skoodge stared in disbelief at the screen before him. Reality sank in as he watched his home planet disappear into the depths of space. He was too late. Zim had done it. Skoodge could only worry for the safety of Dib and GIR now. He closed out of the horrific broadcast, only able to take so much tragedy. Skoodge felt an uneasy tightening in his chest as he mourned the loss of his home planet. He sat back in the seat of his schook cruiser and sighed, running his hands over his head, feeling his antennae through the thin material of his gloves. 

“Computer, what is the location of the Space Ghost?”

The computer took a second to search. 

“The BS-200 model ship is approximately eight hundred and fifty two miles away from its north of Corton 58.” 

Skoodge frowned.

“And the nearest non-hostile planet?”

“Nearest non-hostile planet is planet Meekrob”

Skoodge felt himself grimace at the name. 

“Is that all?”

“There is not another planet around for several thousand miles.”

“Damn it. Well I’m low on fuel so I don’t think I have much of a voice now, do I? Let’s pay Meekrob a visit, shall we?”

With that, the schook cruiser zoomed to Meekrob’s surface. 

-X-

Despite the trouble Irk always had with Meekrob, Skoodge was still able to recognize it as a very pretty planet. With its tall iridescent buildings and soft colored blue nature. And Skoodge couldn’t forget the planet’s beautiful warm yellow and pink sky, giving the look of perpetual sunset. Skodge found it to be a very relaxing sight to see. Beings of pure energy passed by him, and the irken could feel their intense power radiating off of them. It was almost enough to make him nauseous. Looks were exchanged between the races, but no words were said. They merely acknowledged the other’s presence and moved on. Out of the corner of his eye, Skoodge noticed an alien walk up to him fearlessly. He wasn’t Meekrob, which made Skoodge question in his mind what exactly he was doing here.

“What can I do for you, soldier?”

Skoodge cleared his throat before speaking. 

“Ah, well you see, I’m low on fuel, and I need to get some information regarding the Resisty.”

“Well I can help you with one of those things. Head to that building there, it’s essentially the Resisty headquarters.”

“Thanks.” Skoodge handed them a few monies and began walking towards the building. 

Skoodge had a brief epiphany. So this is why the empire hasn’t found them yet. They’re hiding on the only planet strong enough to fight the empire and win. Skoodge smiled to himself, but shook his head as he realized that that wasn’t what he came here for. The empire was severely crippled and he was here to get help to deal with its main issue. As he descended onto the tall iridescent building, Skoodge felt a knot forming in his spooch. What if they didn’t want to help him? Where would he go then? Skoodge shook his head once more. Then he’d do what any irken would do - he’d force them. Irken force was always plan number two when reason wasn’t an option, which it rarely seemed to be anyway. Skoodge wasn’t exactly intimidating himself, but he knew someone who was. And that someone was more dangerous than Skoodge could ever hope to be. 

This building had to be the tallest one on Meekrob. Either that, or Skoodge’s height was playing tricks on him again. The lobby was unnecessarily huge with oceans of people passing through. Skoodge almost found himself getting lost among the ankles and tail of several creatures. Three were hallways full of elevators and large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The floors were black and white checkered and the walls were obsidian black with streaks of pink and blue. 

Skoodge walked up to the alien at the front desk. It was a strange-looking creature with several eyes and looked to be made out of some kind of goo. Skoodge cleared his throat to get the creature’s attention, but he wasn’t spotted. Skoodge tried again and was met with the same result. Growing irritated, Skoodge reached his hand over the counter and scratched at the desk. Only then was he finally spotted. The alien looked down at him.

“Sorry about that. Can I help you, young irken?”

“I hope so. I’m looking for information regarding the escaped Resisty. I was pointed here.”

The alien raised an eye ridge. 

“You’re not scoping the planet to dominate it?”

Skoodge rolled his eyes. “No, I’m here for a very serious matter concerning the safety of this planet. Now you can help me find the Resisty members or let this planet go up in smoke.”

The alien leaned back, very concerned about what was just said. 

“There are a lot of escaped Resisty members from around the galaxy alone. You’re going to have to be more specific.”

“Preferably ones that recently escaped Irk. A vortian scientist, a floating cone thing, and something else.”

The alien tapped away on their screen and looked back down at Skoodge. 

“Fifth floor, room 512. They might be in a meeting right now, so you may have to wait for them outside.”

Skoodge immediately made his way to the elevators, not bothering to listen to the last part of the alien’s sentence. In the elevator, Skoodge requested the fifth floor to the computer system. It was a long ride, and it wasn’t made easy either with a creature who smelled of feet right beside him. When the ride finally ceased, Skoodge exited the elevator and looked around. He felt the familiar feeling of irritation creeping into his very being - there were not room numbers on the doors. To his luck, though, here seemed to be someone there to help guide him. At the correct room, Skoodge wasted no time barging in the room, panting from his sprint down the hallway. 

The room full of aliens turned their heads to the intruder with surprise. Some even got u out of their seats, one of them vortian. There was a wide array of aliens from all over the universe it seemed sitting at the long table, but at the head of them all was the vortian who seemed completely calm despite the rude entry. 

“Please. I need your help.” Skoodge spoke after a long awkward silence. 

The votian walked quickly over to the irken, however cautiously. 

“Strange. Not many irkens come to the Resisty for help. Though in your case, it seems urgent. What is it?”

“My planet has been destroyed by a rogue, and he's going to destroy more. You have to help me top him.”

A murmur fell over the room, but the vortian was quick to silence them. He waited patiently for Skoodge to continue. 

“His name is Zim. He’s been dealing with malfunctions for years, but they finally took over and invaded his mind and drove him mad! He went rogue and destroyed Irk using the Massive. If he isn’t stopped, I fear all your home planets will be destroyed as well.”

The vortian nodded and looked around. 

“We know of what became of Irk, and I sincerely apologize, soldier. While it’s the Resisty’s mission to stop the growth of the empire, it was never our intention to claim so many lives. This is indeed a most serious issue. But why fear for us? Irkens don’t fear for races other than their own. Or is it that you fear for what’s left of the empire? Forgive my forwardness, but I must understand.”

Skoodge grimaced at the thought of his own response, but figured it was the best course of action and the most convincing. 

“I have a malfunction of my own that makes me sympathize more with others. It’s extremely difficult to ignore, but that’s why my leaders casted me out. I’ve been thrown out many times, and it’s only recently that I have accepted my fate. I now have no feelings towards the empire anymore.”

The vortian seemed convinced, and made a hum of what Skoodge hoped was approval. 

“Your name, soldier?”

“Skoodge.”

“Welcome to the Resisty, Skoodge. I am Lard Nar. I’m glad you came to us with this matter. It’s most disturbing. Please, sit. Let us discuss this issue.”

“Discuss? What’s there to discuss? Entire planets are at stake!”

Lard Nar raised a hand, silencing the irken. 

“Believe me, I understand. But we need a course of action before we can do anything to minimize any casualties.” 

Lard Nar made his way back to his seat at the head of the table, and Skoodge begrudgingly took a different seat. 

“We all know what happened to Irk, yes. If this were under any other circumstances, this would be considered good news” He flashed an apologetic look to Skoodge who just rolled his eyes. “However, Irk was not vanquished by Resisty hands, but a rogue irken soldier. What’s more, they have taken over the Massive, the most technologically advanced piece of equipment the empire owns. As we’ve been witness to, it has the power to destroy entire planets.”

Lard Nar put a thin sheet of metal down onto the table which pulled up a large holographic map of the Massive. Skoodge briefly wondered where he got the information. 

“This poses a huge threat to the Resisty’s mission. If this ship is in rogue hands, they MUST be dealt with. Now is the time I ask your thoughts on the matter.”

One alien stood up immediately. They were tall and lanky with a large oval-shaped head and several eyes. They wore a long blue robe that went down to the floor and trailed on the ground a bit. Their voice was coarse and rough, varying in volume. 

“What could we possibly do to help? We’re severely out-gunned here! I mean LOOK at that thing! Talk about a huge technological disadvantage.” 

Skoodge could feel his skin prickle as others muttered in agreement. 

“Yes we are, but it’s whether or not this rogue utilizes the weaponry is the key.”

“He knows how to use it, and he will.” Skoodge cut in. “He may have even altered the ship’s functions to suit his reign, so it could be even more dangerous. He’s way too smart to do this alone.”

“If that’s the case, then we’ll need backup. I can call in my connections from Dirt and see if they would be willing to lend us a hand or two.” Lard Nar turned to Skoodge. “You’re not the only iren to turn to the Resisty for help.”

“There are others?”

“Several, actually. Those who were cast from the empire for seemingly ridiculous reasons. Looks, functionality, the whole ordeal. The connections I have on Dirt? Two of them are irken.”

Skoodge’s antennae perked when he heard this. He uncrossed his hands and stood from his seat. 

“Well then what are we waiting for? Two more perfectly healthy irkens should be enough power to overwhelm him.”

“Hold on now, Skoodge. It’s up to them if they want to help. We can’t force them.”

“And why not? Anyone can be forced to do something.”

“While that may be true in your mind, that’s not how the Resisty works.”

Lard Nar turned off the hologram and shoved it into a pocket as Skoodge huffed.

“Does anyone have any objections?”

The room seemed to shake their heads in unison, all relieved to not have to work on this plan themselves. Lard Nar walked over to Skoodge and held out his hand. 

“Then we work on this together.”

Skoodge stared at the offered hand and frowned. Eventually, he took it and gave it a quick shake before letting go. 

“Whatever, let’s just go already.”

With that, the room was dismissed, and Lard Nar led Skoodge out the door. They made their way down the hall and to the elevator. 

“You know, Skoodge, it’s really not so bad here. People who live here on Meekrob are happy.”

Skoodge remained silent and looked away from the warm, welcoming smile Lard Nar gave him. The vortain’s smile faded as he realized he was being ignored and he cleared his throat. The pair made their way out of the elevator and down to the lobby where they boarded a large Resisty ship. Skoodge was hesitant to board given who he was with, however, he pushed those feelings aside for the sake of his new mission. To stop Zim once and for all. 

“Now Dirt is a few days away from here, so I recommend you get comfortable. There are snacks in the mess hall and quarters for rest just down that way. Feel free to look around.” Lard Nar said from the cockpit. 

Skoodge nodded and decided to do just that. Just to make sure there wasn't any evidence of betrayal. Skoodge walked down the halls of the large ship and felt along the metallic walls. He read over every piece of Resisty propaganda and eventually came to the conclusion that there was nothing here that suggested betrayal. Skoodge sighed and sat on a bench in the hallway. It was then that he realized he hadn’t slept in weeks. Sleep pulled at his eyes and threatened him with tantalizing escape. Skoodge tried fighting the strong urge by standing up to try and walk the sleep away. He couldn't sleep - not when he had a mission to do. Skoodge found the quarters and looked inside a pod. It looked almost exactly like the sleep pods they had in the academy. The curiosity was far too great, and Skoodge found himself sitting on the pod to test it. It felt almost exactly like it too. Just enough comfort to fall asleep peacefully, but just uncomfortable enough to wake up with aching limbs that lasted the rest of the next day. Skoodge felt the feeling of sleepiness return with a vengeance, and he found he could resist no longer. Skoodge laid down and let the dark embrace of sleep pull him down, down into the weightless depths of slumber. 

-X-

When Skoodge woke up next, he was gently shaken awake by the vortian. 

“Skoodge, wake up. You slept through the entire trip, we’re here.”

Skoodge sat up and rubbed the grogginess from his eyes. He didn’t even remember falling asleep. He got up from the pod and followed Lard Nar to the front of the ship where they exited. 

Dirt was, well, Dirt. Skoodge recognized the filthy housing squares and broken doors and windows. He inhales the stale, heavy air and coughed it back out. He’d only been to Dirt twice. Once on a mission, and the second time was where he landed when the Tallest shot him out of a cannon. He could even still see the crater he had formed in the far distance. 

“Is this really where the defectives live?” 

Lard Nar nodded. “Although I wouldn’t advise calling them defective to their faces. They are very aware of how broken they are.”

Skoodge frowned. “If they’re so broke, then what did we come here for? I thought you said they were healthy.”

“If I told you they were defective, would you have come?”

Skoodge huffed. “Well let’s just hope they’re as helpful as you say they are.”

The pair stopped in front of a housing square. This particular housing square was somehow in much worse condition than any of the others. The walls were cracked and falling apart while the floor had holes, and the ceiling was no different. It reeked of mold and mildew, and Skoodge found it difficult to breathe. He ended up pulling out his respirator for him to be able to breathe correctly. He wasn’t used to such foul air. The pair advanced to a room in the square and knocked on the fragile door. After a minute, the door cracked open, a small chain preventing it from opening any further. Skoodge could only see a pair of magenta eyes peeking through the opening. 

“Who goes?”

Before Skoodge could speak, Lard Nar presented himself. 

“It’s me. The Resisty requires your services.”

The door was almost immediately opened and a tall female irken soldier stood in the doorway. She was dirty and smelled of old dust. Her uniform was old and worn, and didn’t look like it fit quite right anymore. Skoodge wondered if, given her circumstances, that her old uniform was the only clothes she owned. Her chest was oddly rounded and puffed out, and her legs looked like Lard Nar’s, only more sleek in design instead of the harsher angles. Apart from the obvious, Skoodge couldn’t see what exactly made her defective. Perhaps a coding problem? She seemed to carry herself with standard irken confidence. 

“What’s going on, Lard Nar?”

Her voice was soft and calm, unlike any Skoodge had ever heard. He found it rather nice and soothing. Despite the vortian’s urgent tone, she remained attentive. 

“I don’t know how else to tell you this, but one of your own has destroyed your home planet.”

The female seemed taken aback by the news. She stared in cold disbelief at the ground for a minute before opening the door wider, allowing the vortian and Skoodge inside, to which both complied. 

“We could really use your help to take him down, Dodger.”

The mentioned irken frowned at the floor for another few moments before speaking, her tone now choked, as if she were to start crying. 

“I knew this day would come, I just didn’t think it would be in my lifetime. Not to mention a brother, you see.”

“Skoodge, this is Dodger. She’s a fairly new addition to the Resisty, along with her square mates Bliss and F.”

Dodger nodded in greeting. 

“Pleasure to meet you, Skoodge.”

“Likewise, Dodger. Say, I’ve never heard someone refer to another irken as ‘brother’.”

“Ah, force of habit, you see. No, I fight against the empire. My people are not to blame. They were simply raised with the empire, but there is so much more we can be. My square mates and I are living proof of that, you see. However, this irken seemed to stray far from the path of true freedom. A coding issue?” 

“The worst kind. F-061-I-07-D-127.”

Dodger put her hand to her mouth and gasped before sighing sadly.

“What a shame.” She turned to Lard Nar. “What do you need me to do?”

“Well, we’ll need you on our front lines. Your training will be put to the ultimate test. Now, you might die-”

“I’ll do it.”

Skoodge frowned. “But he just said you might die.”

“You should know better than anyone that that means very little to me. If it’s to protect what’s left of my people, then I will happily give my services, you see.”

Lard Nar still didn’t seem too happy about her answer. 

“We’ll also need Bliss and F.”

At that point, Dodger began to bristle. 

“Absolutely not. Bliss can’t function enough to fight, Lard Nar, you know that!”

“Believe me, Dodger, I don’t want them as possible fodder either, but we’re severely outnumbered without them. I really think we could use their help.”

“Out of the question. You either take me or you take no one. You can’t take both.”

“Dodger-”

“I said NO, Lard Nar!” Dodger shouted in vortian. 

With that, Dodger stormed off onto a balcony area, slamming the glass doors behind her. Lard Nar sighed and shook his head, looking to Skoodge. 

“I’m sorry about that. She’s very protective of her friends.”

“No need to apologize, I understand. But I feel obligated to ask - why are her friends so important? Didn’t she say one couldn’t function enough to fight? Why do we need them?”

Lard Nar gave Skoodge a look. “Every Resisty member is important.”

“You know what I mean. Why try so hard?”

“Dodger is excellent in her craft. She’s really driven to do what she feels is right for both her people and the Resisty. A very valuable asset to the resistance. She’s just… how do I put this… motherly. For lack of a better term. Usually I can ask her for anything as long as it doesn’t involve her friends.”

“If I may ask, what exactly makes her square mates so special?”

Lard Nar went silent for a few moments, staring at Dodger sitting just outside.

“I should really let HER tell you. She may be more comfortable talking to another irken.”

Skoodge nodded and followed the female irken’s steps out onto the patio, closing the glass door behind him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the irken female sitting on a cardboard box. He wouldn’t engage, not yet. Looking out past the bannister, Skoodge spotted another irken and a creature he didn’t recognize running around each other and playing. Before he could pull anything up about the mysterious creature, Dodger spoke up, her voice now calm again. 

“They’re called ‘Hunters’. A dying species. He’s one of the last of his kind, you know.”

Skoodge made a sound of acknowledgement and the pair sat together in a relative comfortable silence. Dodger was a soldier like him. He knew if he was patient enough, then she wouldn’t be able to take the silence anymore. Irken soldiers, more than any other class just had to speak. It was a strange quirk of theirs. Eventually, his strategy worked, and Dodger broke the silence. 

“Lard Nar ask you to come talk to me?”

“You got me.”

“You have to understand where I’m coming from, Skoodge.”

“Enlighten me then. Why don’t you want your friend’s help?”

Dodger sighed heavily and leaned back, her head against the cool concrete. She looked out over at the two playing, and a smile crept across her face. It was soft, and Skoodge could see that there was much love and adoration behind it. She looked to be at peace. 

“Well you see, they’re special.”

“Special is good.” Skoodge joked, which got a surprising chuckle out of Dodger.

“Not so much in this sense.” She pointed out the second irken. “That’s Bliss. Her Intensity level has dropped to a staggering -3%. She processes the world exactly five seconds slow. You see why she was dumped here. The hideous creature she’s latched herself to is F. He was thrown away like his people were, you know. The empire took over his planet and turned it into what is now Foodcourtia.”

“That was so long ago.”

“Yes. Nearly eighty irken years to be exact. No, F was thrown out like garbage, and he’s been here ever since.”

“What about you? You seem fairly normal.”

“That’s because I AM normal. They threw me out because they considered me ‘deformed’. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with my programming. I was dumped on Dirt purely because of how I look. It’s bullshit.”

Skoodge took a quick second to look over the irken next to him. She was slightly more pale than the standard irken, she was more fair. And the strange roundness in her chest was interesting. Skoodge wondered what could have caused such a thing. Her legs were just as fascinating. How they’d developed so jagged and uneven. Skoodge briefly wondered if it was genetics from her donor units or a simple malfunction while developing her biological shell, a 1 instead of a 0. Either way, Skoodge found her so interesting, it made it near impossible not to stare. He was just so entranced by her presence. 

“Well I think you look fine. You’re healthy, aren’t you? That’s what’s important.”

Dodger found herself smiling and chuckling again. 

“I appreciate your surprising kindness, Skoodge. However, flattery won’t change my mind.”

“That’s because I wasn’t trying to.” Skoodge blurted, and felt his face redden at his words. 

Dodger looked at Skoodge and then back to her friends.

“Monies for your thoughts?”

Skoodge adjusted his gloves absent-mindedly, continuing to stare ahead. 

“Honestly, I don’t see how they can help either. Of the two, the only seemingly worthy candidate is F. However, your connection to Bliss tells me that you refuse to leave her behind, that way she has someone who can take care of her. But if you take her with you, you still can. The Resisty can look after her.”

“She’ll die out there, you know.”

“She could have died here. Plenty of times. Dirt is a dangerous planet. But you and F have done a helluva job protecting her and she’s perfectly fine.”

Dodger seemed to mull over his words, and Skoodge stood up to leave and let her do just that. Once inside, Skoodge gave Lard Nar the ‘wait’ signal before he could speak. The pair waited in strained silence before Dodger presented herself again. 

“Okay. WE will help you. Someone needs to be punished, and I can find enjoyment in knowing that a bunch of rejects were the ones responsible.”

Dodger had a determined smile on her face that made Skoodge smile too. He wasn’t sure about the plan, but now he knew that with their help, they had a damn good chance at fighting against Zim.

“Are you sure? Bliss-”

“Bliss can hold her own, believe it or not. She’s been on this rock longer than I have, and she’s still alive. I should have had more faith in her to begin with. But I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to serve.”

Lard Nar nodded. “Then it’s settled. Thank you, Dodger. I can’t imagine that it was an easy decision.”

“It wasn’t. So you can thank your friend for his silver tongue. I still don’t agree with it, but I think Bliss and F would think differently. And the majority really does win.”

Dodger smiled once more at Skoodge who looked down at the dusty floor. Dodger went back outside, and in a few moments, came back with Bliss and F in tow. They followed Lard Nar and Skoodge to the Resisty ship and boarded. Dodger took one last look at her home as the reality set in that she might not return. Skoodge put a hand on her arm(since he was too short to reach her shoulder) and gave her a small smile of encouragement, to which Dodger smiled back and followed him to the commons area to wait out the ride. 

Hours go by and Lard Nar appears in the main area, signaling for them to follow. Skoodge and Dodger exchange looks of confusion before standing and following the vortian to the cockpit. 

“If we are to infiltrate the Massive, we first need to know where it’s located.”

“I know where Zim’s last ship is located. His BS-200 Space Ghost is located eight hundred and fifty two miles away from Corton 58. Luckily I looked for it before I got to Meekrob, the Massive can’t be too far away.”

“Excellent.” Lard Nar jotted down the coordinates in the ship’s log. “If we can find that ship, there might be something on it that can lead us to the specific location of the Massive.”

“And if there isn’t?” Skoodge questioned almost accusingly.

“If there isn’t then surely it will prove useful some other way. I’m sure the irken put everything about his mission in the ship before it was abandoned.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Zim. Let’s check it out.”

With that, Lard Nar initiated the hyperdrive and the crew of five sped past stars that became white blurs in the windows, determined to find this rogue soldier. 

-X-

By the time they reached the Space Ghost, they could see that it had quickly fallen into disrepair, even looking at it from the outside. It looked to have been looted by passers by, which suddenly gave Skoodge little hope of them finding anything useful. As the Resisty ship closed in on the other vessel, Lard Nar stood from his seat. 

“Alright, crew. Who knows if we might run into anything while we’re in there? Skoodge, take Dodger and scope out the ship while I watch and scan for any other life forms.”

“Can’t you do that before we enter?”

“It’s a big vessel, Skoodge. It’ll take a minute or two at the latest. Better to risk it now and retrieve information, right?”

“That’s terrible logic, but strangely enough, it makes some sort of sense. Fine. Let’s go Skoodge.” Dodger casually smacked Skoodge’s shoulder and walked out of the cockpit.

Skoodge rubbed his shoulder and sighed as he followed her. They entered the airlock and donned the space suits that were there waiting for them. It wasn't a standard irken issue, but it would have to do. Dodger seemed to have a bit of trouble getting the suit to fit around her misshapen legs and rounded torso, and seemed to require some assistance. But Skoodge wasn’t going to initiate help unless she asked for it. That would just cause tension between the two, and Skoodge couldn’t afford that - not when they were going on a side mission together. So Skoodge patiently waited for Dodger to finish. She managed to put the suit on without asking for help, however, and Skoodge was glad he didn’t ask. 

“Alright, let’s see what we can find.” Dodger said, pressing a button on her neck piece to bring a face shield down, Skoodge following close behind. 

The airlock opened and the irkens were released. Dodger went first and successfully boarded the Space Ghost, Skoodge not far behind. They made their way through the ruined hallways and looked around. Panels were torn violently from the walls and there were deep scratches in the metal. It definitely didn’t look like looters made these marks. Wires sparked and hung dangerously overhead, and Skoodge found himself dodging some particularly low hanging ones. They passed through the kitchen which was trashed. Food floated in the air and the table was split in two. Cabinets hung open to reveal its empty contents and tiles from the floor floated around. Skoodge and Dodger moved on to the quarters. 

“Hang on, there may be something useful in here.” Skoodge pointed out a door with the irken symbol crudely painted on it. Whatever it was didn’t exactly look like paint. 

“Okay, you search in there, I’m going to search this cabin.” Dodger pointed to the one just down the hall. Skoodge nodded and they split up.

Skoodge inspected the symbol on the door first. By the smell of it alone, it smelled like irken blood. Stale. It wasn’t painted recently. Venturing in the cabin, Skoodge noticed several papers floating in the air. He took one and read it over. It looked like a journal entry written in irken. 

“Day 237, Dib has been distant lately, and I’m not sure why. I can feel whatever is taking over my programming is getting stronger. The internal collapsing of my PAK is becoming more and more frequent, and I can’t get it to stop. It hurts every fiber of my being and every time it happens, I can feel my sanity begin to fade away. I fear I will become nothing now. If only I knew some way of making it stop. I just want it to stop. I don’t really want to do this. I want to go home. I don’t care if my mission was fake anymore, at least I had a home. But this feeling has dominated that part of my brain and I’m becoming more blood thirsty than I could have ever imagined. Bloodshed feels good. Dib can never know I feel this way. I feel bad for the earth boy, really I do. But he made the mistake of joining me, and there’s nothing I can do about it now. I just have to hide now. Yes. If I hide, then I won’t have to feel these things anymore. I hate it. I hate it so much. I hate being Zim. Zim is a failure. What’s even the point of living anymore if to live is to fail? Thank Irk this is a suicide mission.”

Skoodge sighed, a chill running up his spine as he shoved the paper into his pocket. 

“Oh Irk, Zim. Why…?” Skoodge shook his head and looked around some more. 

He spotted a map of the Massive taped to the floor and looked it over. It had markings scribbled onto it and arrows marking entrances and weaknesses. It was clear that Zim had been studying the vessel closely and was planning out every move. The other papers he found were notes on the subject and carefully written plans of Dib’s involvement. Skoodge floated over to the desk and rummaged around the drawers. There seemed to be nothing but spare parts and abandoned tech projects. From the look of some of them, they seemed to be bombs in progress, yet discarded halfway through. Skoodge wondered why. Zim couldn’t get enough of little projects like these, they were something that always kept his mind busy. Looking closer, Skoodge noticed the drawer had pink blood on the inside and small razors floating in the bottom, pinned down by the projects. Skoodge felt his insides twist and he closed the drawer. He hung his head and sighed heavily. It was all too much. He had no idea what was going through Zim’s head until now. Now he knew that Zim was just as dangerous to himself than to anything else. 

Skoodge felt his eyes begin to well as he thought about what could happen to his friend. How he knew he’d have to eventually give Zim exactly what he craves. The sweet release of death. Thinking about that, Skoodge wasn’t sure if he could do it. Even though Zim had destroyed his home planet, it wasn’t REALLY Zim who had done it. Zim was still his best friend, and Skoodge wanted to find him first. Skoodge sniffed and lifted his head, trying to calm himself. If Skoodge couldn't find the real Zim, then there’d be no debate in his fate. 

“Skoodge?” Came Dodger’s soft voice, startling Skoodge. 

He quickly whirled around to see Dodger’s very concerned face. She floated in the doorway, and held out a notebook.

“I found something that might be of use. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just… I just need a minute.” Skoodge sat on the bed to the cabin and sighed again.

Dodger sat next to him and kicked her legs as she waited for Skoodge to collect himself. 

“He’s a danger to himself, Dodger. We have to find him quickly. He’s going to get himself killed.”

“Well that’s kind of the plan, Skoodge.”

Skoodge looked up and gave her a nasty glare. 

“He’s my best friend, Dodger, and he’s suffering. How would you feel if Bliss or F were in his shoes?”

“Point taken. But Skoodge, he’s killed millions of our kind. He’s sick and is too dangerous alive.”

“One minute.”

“What?”

“One minute is all I ask to find my friend and prove he’s still sane.”

“Skoodge-”

“Please! I know I can get through to him! I only ask that you wait one minute.”

Dodger sighed and looked around. She took in the disaster of the room and looked back at Skoodge. 

“Sixty seconds. If you can’t prove that he’s worthy of living, then it’s lights out for him.”

“Deal. Now what did you find?”

Dodger opened the notebook and flipped through some of the pages. 

“Plans for the infiltration of the Massive. Whoever this was, they were smart enough to leave us coordinates.”

Skoodge smiled. “Dib. Irk, I hope he’s alright.”

“Another friend of yours?”

“Let’s just say friendly acquaintance. Let’s get these back to Lard Nar. They might be old coordinates, but hopefully they haven’t strayed far from them.”

Dodger nodded and they stood. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’ll be fine. Let’s just get this over with.”

With that, the pair made their way back to the Resisty ship. When they boarded, Lard Nar was there waiting for them.

“Good news, there weren’t any life forms on the ship.”

“Why do I get the feeling there’s bad news?” Skoodge asked. 

“Because there is. While scanning the ship, I found this.” Lard Nar produced a blinking device that projected a map of the sector.

“What is it?”

“The ship had lasers that tracked movement, and I’ve traced the signal to the Massive. He knows we were here.”

“Shit. And based on the coordinates we found, we’re not far behind him. Just one jump would put us right on his tail.”

“Exactly. And if we want this to work, we have to be quick. There’s no time to head back to Meekrob to prepare now. If we do, we’ll lose him. We’ll have to make do with what we have here.”

“And what exactly do we have here?”

“A very bare boned arsenal and defense system. This ship wasn’t built for fighting, it was built for travel.”

“Okay, so that means we’ll have to be smart about our plan.” said Dodger. “And I think I have an idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 8 is finally out! Man I got wicked carpal tunnel from this one! 😅😅
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy this chapter, and I will have ch 9 out as soon as I can!


	9. Of Joining Together and Tearing Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So the Resisty manage to track down the Massive. How will the crew survive the horrors?

Skoodge was never very sneaky. His feet padded loudly on the ground and he was almost always spotted during his invader training. Which is why this part of the plan made Skoodge nervous. 

“A-Are we sure about sending ME through? What if I’m caught?”

“Then we’ll come get you. All you have to do is find a way inside and tell us what you see. You’ve been in the Massive several times before, why is now any different?”

“Uh, because I don’t have the safety of other irkens on the ship? And the only irken left is on a blood thirsty rampage?”

“Right. Well I’m sure with your training, there shouldn’t be much to worry about.”

Lard Nar was only half right. Skoodge briefly remembered the fire that left Zim partially deaf, which gave Skoodge the upper hand. Realistically, Zim shouldn’t be able to hear much. But that didn’t stop Skoodge from thinking about the small sounds the irken DID hear. Those would prove to be most important. Maybe Skoodge could use that to his advantage. However, he wondered. What if he found Dib? He was sure that with the way Zim’s malfunction was going, GIR was almost certainly dismantled, but Dib could fight back. Skoodge could only hope he hadn’t been killed. He’d already failed the human before, he wasn’t about to do it again. Skoodge suddenly jumped from the gentle hand that was placed on his shoulder. He looked up to see Dodger staring at him. 

Skoodge nodded. “I’m okay.”

“Look Skoodge, I get that he was your friend and all, but this is important. I need one hundred percent of your focus here.” Lard Nar squinted at the irken which made him feel strangely smaller. 

“No, you’re right, I’m sorry. I was just thinking. I don’t think he’d attack me if I get caught, but if I do, what’s the plan? I’m not purposely trying to get caught, I just want to know my options.”

Lard Nar sighed. “If you DO end up getting spotted, then each of us will have a device that sends the other an SOS. We will come to you.”

Skoodge nodded in agreement. He figured he’d only use it if he were in imminent danger with no possible means of escape. Skoodge wanted to see Zim for himself. Zim might prove to be a lot stronger, but Skoodge wasn’t going down without a fight. Lard Nar handed out the devices and Skoodge shoved his into a pocket. 

“What are you guys going to do?”

“We’re going to dismantle the Massive from the inside. It’ll be difficult with Zim at the helm, which is why your job in getting him away from it is so important. Dodger will be looking through your blind spots and guiding you into the deeper parts of the ship so I can do my part. She will also be monitoring Zim and tracking his movements as well as body language. He should be easy to read since he has very little filter left.”

“Understood. What about Bliss and F?”

“They will be our backup in case this thing goes awry. Their job is to overwhelm him and make him feel trapped so we can pin him. If this Zim is as smart as you say he is, then he might try something to throw us off, so everyone needs to be on their guard at all times.”

With an understanding nod from the rest of the crew, Lard Nar set some coordinates into the computer system and set the scary-fast drive. Soon, the Resisty ship sped off into the dark reaches of space, and Skoodge watched as the stars flooded the windshield. He would have been in awe if not for their current predicament. Skoodge wrung his hands together in anticipation. Dodger seemed to notice and took one of his hands, giving him a warm smile. Skoodge felt his heart leap into his throat and his face begin to burn. He looked away curtly, borderline bashful. He was still trying to figure out why Dodger made him feel these things. Perhaps it was because she was so nice, and Skoodge had never known such kindness before. It was really strange to say the least. He had half a mind to ask her why she was treating him this way, but he decided to save the question for different circumstances. 

In just a matter of hours, Lard Nar finally slowed the ship to a near halt, several yards away from their target. He was almost positive Zim had spotted the ship, but made no move to destroy it. It perplexed the vortian, but he decided it wasn’t worth the brain power. 

“Alright Skoodge, now’s your chance.”

Skoodge nodded and exchanged glances with Dodger who looked far more confident than he was, which filled him with a sudden rush of courage. The irken made his way to the airlock where he donned the space suit and gave Lard Nar the go-ahead. Once the airlock was opened, Skoodge activated the jets in his boots and glided over to the Massive. It certainly looked much bigger than Skoodge remembered. Much more intimidating now knowing whose hands it was in. Skoodge shook those thoughts from his mind and focused on the task at hand. He found an entrance into the Massive and went for it. He cringed at the loud hissing as the ship introduced Skoodge to its artificial gravity. Once Skoodge was back on his feet, he opened the door, hoping it didn’t trigger any kind of alarm. He made his way carefully through the hallway and used his PAK legs to climb onto the ceiling. 

“Careful, target at your six.” Dodger said through an earpiece. 

Skoodge looked behind him just in time to see Zim lumbering down the hallway. He looked in a daze, almost like he was being hypnotized with the way he walked. Zim looked like utter shit. His eyes were sunken and nearly colorless. His face was pale and he was missing his gloves. He looked fragile, but Skoodge knew better than to underestimate him. Sure he looked like he could break if someone looked at him too hard, but he was sure Zim still had his savage ways when it came down to a fight. Skoodge noticed that his mouth was blood-soaked. Not with irken blood, but red and coppery. Skoodge could smell it on him even from the high ceiling. He heard the familiar ticking and snapping of his PAK, but Zim didn’t seem to feel it anymore, which Skoodge found worrisome. He gargled and muttered under his breath as he passed Skoodge, completely aloof to what was just overhead. As soon as the hallway was cleared, Skoodge crept back down to the floor and pressed a button on his earpiece.

“Is it just me, or does this seem too easy?”

“You’re not alone. Keep your eyes peeled.” Said Lard Nar through the device. 

Skoodge looked around and cautiously followed Zim around the corner. He noticed Zim heading back to the control room and banged on the metal wall with his PAK leg, causing a loud high-pitched ring. He heard the acknowledged grunt of the other irken and the sprinting of boots. Skoodge barely had enough time to get to higher ground before he saw Zim turn the corner and look around. He looked feral. He was even beginning to foam slightly. 

“Down the hall you’re in, to the left. Drive him over there.” Dodger spoke softly, almost inaudible. 

“I can’t right now, he’ll see. He’s half deaf, not blind.” Skoodge whispered back. 

Zim’s antenna perked, and Skoodge covered his mouth to silence his breathing. Zim looked from side to side and huffed, grasping at his tunic before letting it go. As soon as his back was turned to go back, Skoodge looked around for anything he could use to divert his attention again. He suddenly remembered the device in his pocket and took it out. He threw it down the hallway away from the control room, the device echoing as it hit the ground. Zim’s antenna perked again and he stalked down the hallway. He saw the device on the ground and picked it up. He looked around, confused and turned his attention to the ceiling, causing Skoodge to freeze in his place. Zim didn’t stare for very long and continued down the hallway much to Skoodge’s relief.

“Good work, Skoodge. But why does he have your device now?”

“Because I had nothing else. I’ll get it back somehow.”

“You’d better. Let’s hope he hasn’t already put two and two together. He’s too calm, I don’t like it.”

“Patience, Dodger. Let me deal with him. Remember what we talked about.”

Skoodge dropped to the floor and followed Zim around the corner again. He spotted him lurking around a door, and Skoodge immediately hid himself from sight, his spooch pounding in his chest as his blood ran cold. He prayed he wasn’t seen already. He heard Zim punch in a code and a door hiss open. Once he was sure Zim had gone through the door, he broke away from the hallway wall, walking down the opposite way.

“Skoodge? What are you doing? You’re supposed to follow him.” Dodger called.

“Hang on, there’s someone I have to find. You’ve got your eyes on him, let me know when he’s close.”

Skoodge tried opening door after door in search of a specific human. However every door was either a storage space or snack compartment. Finally, he came across a door to what seemed like a lab, and quickly shut the door behind him. The motion sensor lights flickered on and Skoodge looked around. There were surgical tools as far as the eye could see, and there looked to be a figure sprawled out on the table. Skoodge stepped closer and recognized the familiar coat and shirt of the human. Skoodge felt his heart sink deep into his spooch. Dib lay there on the table, bloody and cut up, yet hastily stitched back together, not to mention missing his head. Which, much to Skoodge’s horror, he spotted in a jar not far from the body.

“Oh Irk, Dib… what did he do to you…?” 

Looking closer, Skoodge noticed some kind of tech sticking out of his neck. Curious, Skoodge pressed one of the buttons and Dib’s body sat up with a jerk, causing Skoodge to reel backwards and fall onto his butt. Dib searched around with his hands until he finally took something and set it onto the device on his neck. It was GIR’s head missing his bottom jaw. Skoodge felt his spooch do flips at the horrific sight. He heard the gargling from the creation, GIR’s voice and Dib’s melded into one. The eyes lit up as soon as it made noises. 

“Skoodge…? Skoodge is that you…?”

Skoodge thought he was dreaming. 

“Dib…? Holy Irk what happened to you? You’re hideous.”

“Thank God you’re here. I have no time to explain, you have to help me.”

“Skoodge, alert. Target approaching. Get out of there.” Dodger warned. 

“Look Dib, we don’t have much time. I’m going to get you out of here, okay? But now we need to leave.”

“Right. There’s an exit back here we can use.”

As soon as the back door was open, Skoodge shoved Dib out into the hallway.

“Get to safety, Dib. I’ll hold him off.”

“Are you sure-”

“Yes I’m sure, now get out of here!”

Dib immediately sped away as quick as he could manage, a major limp in his step slowing him down. Skoodge closed the back door behind him and turned to see Zim standing in the main doorway. He looked somewhat surprised.

“Ah. See, I knew there was someone here, I just didn’t think it was you. How have you been, Skoodge?”

“Scraping by. I see you’ve been busy.”

“Very.” Zim smiled, which Skoodge reciprocated. 

“I don’t want to hurt you, Zim.”

“I know, old friend. However it may be your only option, no?” Zim held up the SOS device.

Skoodge glanced at it for a moment.

“Why did you do that to Dib? He’s been nothing short of kind to you”

“Why? So I can make him last longer, of course. He has served me well up until his untimely demise. However, I couldn’t let such pretty organic material go to waste now could I?” Zim’s smile widened into a large toothy grin. “I just couldn’t help snacking on it either.”

Skoodge felt like he was about to empty his spooch when he remembered. He pulled the piece of paper from his pocket and held it out.

“I know how you feel now, Zim. I know deep down, you really don’t want to do this. That you’re broken. But we can help rehabilitate you. If you would just surrender yourself-”

“Surrender??”

Skoodge felt his skin prickle. “Okay, poor choice of words-”

Zim stalked towards Skoodge who froze in his spot like a deer in headlights. He allowed Zim to get close enough to where their faces were almost touching. Skoodge could barely hear the shouts of concern from his earpiece, which Zim took and smashed under his boot. 

“I will NEVER surrender. I’ve worked too hard to get to this point and there’s nothing that can stop me.” He snatched the paper from Skoodge’s hands and pointed at it. “This Zim who was pleading for help is dead, Skoodge. Has been for a while.”

“No he’s not. I can see it in your eyes.”

Skoodge cupped Zim’s cheeks in a bold move. Surprisingly enough, Zim allowed the contact. Perhaps in a way to prove himself. Skoodge looked deep into Zim’s eyes, looking over the glossy pinkish, vaguely greenish hue to one of them and observing the small black pinpoints. Yes there was so much anger in those eyes, so much pain. So much betrayal and hurt. Skoodge nearly found it difficult to continue eye contact. However, he was convinced his friend was still in there. And he wasn’t going to give up on him. Not ever again. 

“Zim. Come to the Resisty with us. I’m sure there’s someone there who can help you. Please, friend. I know you’re hurting and I don’t want you to suffer more than you have. We can finally have a place to call home.” Skoodge smiled in order to sell it more. 

Zim seemed to ponder the request before gently taking Skoodge’s hands in his, removing them from his face.

“I’m sorry, Skoodge. I’m too far gone.”

Zim twisted Skoodge’s wrists, causing Skoodge to shriek in pain. He kept twisting and twisting until he felt the strain of muscle and bones against his palms. Zim’s smile grew in hostility when a shot burst from the front door, startling them both. Skoodge saw Dodger in the doorway holding a pistol. 

“Time’s up, Skoodge. I’m sorry.” 

She shot at Zim again who expertly dodged using his PAK legs, letting go of Skoodge’s hands as he leapt through the broken window into the hallway, sprinting out of sight. Dodger walked up to Skoodge. 

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah… You were right. He’s beyond saving.”

“I truly am sorry you weren’t able to save your friend, Skoodge. But we have bigger fish to fry, okay? Let’s focus on that for now.”

“And we will. As soon as I find Dib again.” 

“What is your obsession with that human?”

“I failed him once, Dodger, I’m not doing it again! If there’s one person I have to save on this Irk forsaken ship, it’s that boy!”

Dodger huffed. “Alright, but make it quick. And I mean FAST. Bliss and F are on the ship and Zim could be back any second and Lard Nar is still working on dismantling the Massive. I’ll do what I can to cover you.”

“Thank you, Dodger.”

The pair began opening several doors to try and find Dib without much luck. Skoodge was about to conclude that Dib had escaped when he spotted GIR’s antenna sticking out of a window.

“Dib! Thank Irk you’re safe!”

Dib poked his head out of the window and opened the door.

“Is he gone?”

“Not yet, we’re working on it. I needed to find you first. We have to get you to safety.”

Suddenly Dodger’s antennae perked and she shoved Skoodge into Dib as she was tackled by Zim, gnashing and snarling.

“GET TO THE RESISTY SHIP NOW!”

“Dodger-”

“NOW!”

Skoodge nodded and took Dib by the hand and the two sprinted to where they entered the ship.

“Here, the Resisty ship is over that way, you can’t miss it!”

Dib opened the airlock and maneuvered himself over in the direction of the ship. Skoodge hurried back to Dodger and Zim who were both gone, save for a blood trail. Skoodge wasn’t sure who it was, but didn’t think it was wise to find out. If it was Zim’s, then that meant Dodger got away, and if it was the other way around, then that meant she might be dead or wounded. Either way, Skoodge didn’t have enough time to figure it out. He hurried to the main control room where he met Zim once more, trying to block the Resisty from dismantling the Massive. And from what Skoodge knew of programming, he was doing one hell of a job defending. However, once he spotted Skoodge, the look of hunger returned to his eyes and he crept towards the small irken. Skoodge and Zim walked circles around each other and took their defensive stances. Zim was far superior in combat than Skoodge was. He had height strangely enough and much more power over the smaller irken. However, Skoodge did not let that dissuade him. 

Zim charged first, and Skoodge stood his ground. He waited for the right time to suddenly jump out of the way, rolling and then standing back on his feet. Zim wasted no time redirecting himself and pouncing, claws and razor sharp teeth at the ready. Skoodge used his PAK legs to launch himself in the air, and Zim followed suit. Despite Skoodge’s dodging, Zim managed to latch on to his legs, gnawing and biting at his calf, making Skoodge shriek in pain. The attack sent the both of them to the floor and Skoodge found himself pinned by Zim on all fours, straddling him like a rabid dog. His eyes were crazed and full of hunger. He reared up for another bite attack, but was suddenly tackled by a purple blur. The purple irken and the tall dark creature wrestled Zim to the ground, soon having him pinned and thrashing about. Skoodge stood to see his rescuers as Bliss and F. He smiled in thanks and kneeled in front of Zim.

“It’s over now, Zim, surrender.”

Zim snarled and snapped his teeth at the air. Skoodge shook his head and stood again. 

“The Massive has been dismantled, Zim. You can stop fighting now. Face it, you lost. Again.”

Zim looked around and growled at the screen showing proof of Skoodge’s words. He finally stopped thrashing and laid still, his cheek pressed firmly into the floor. After a moment, Skoodge heard choked sobbing, which pulled hard at his heart strings. He’d never seen Zim cry before. It was so gut-wrenching that Skoodge knelt before him again, looking down at Zim’s newly swollen eyes. This time they were full of sorrow and the heavy burden of guilt. Skoodge was sure that this was Zim.

“Please just kill me Skoodge… I can’t take it anymore… I’m so sorry about everything… I just want it to stop, it hurts so much, Skoodge.” 

Skoodge felt his own eyes begin to sting with the threat of tears. 

“There’s nothing you can do to take this back, Zim, you know that and I know that. Even if we did manage to rehabilitate you. I know you’re suffering, and I can’t stand to see you like this.” 

Skoodge rested a hand on his PAK just as Dodger came through the doorway. Injured, but no worse for wear.

“Goodbye dear friend. Your service and friendship will never be forgotten.”

Skoodge placed a small chaste kiss on Zim’s forehead as he pressed the pods on his PAK in a specific order which caused it to click and fall off, leaving Zim to succumb to the dark abyss of death. Once the irken ceased breathing, Skoodge sat back on his knees and wept loudly at the loss of his closest friend. Dodger rested a comforting hand on his shoulder and hung her head in mournful silence.

-X-

Back on the way to Meekrob, Skoodge sat silently in the commons area and fiddled with the PAK in his hands. He was going to study it his whole life if that’s what it took to make sure this code never made it into another irken body. He felt over some of the scratches and dents from past battles. They must have been severe to warrant damage to an irken PAK. Dodger sat next to him and the two sat together in silence. Skoodge was grateful for her company. She looked from Skoodge to the PAK and back again.

“He must have been quite the fighter.”

Skoodge chuckled a bit. “You have no idea.”

“That Dib friend of yours is a real whiz kid. Had the Massive in no time at all.”

Skoodge nodded and made a hum of acknowledgement. Dodger realized he didn’t feel like speaking anymore, and the two sat in comfortable silence. Dib crossed into the main area and looked at Skoodge hugging the PAK to his chest. 

“You know, we never really saw eye-to-eye on some things, but he was a good friend of mine too. Even until the end. I understand how you’re feeling, Skoodge. And if you ever want to talk about him, I’m always going to be around.” Dib tried tilting his head as if he were trying to smile.

Skoodge still found Dib’s new body somewhat disturbing, and found it rather difficult to look him in the eyes. He still imagined Dib’s head in the jar and he felt his spooch roll against his will. Dib seemed to pick up on this and he lowered his head.

“I know looking at me is difficult. I don’t even want to look at myself. I can’t go home, Skoodge, not like this.”

“I’m sorry, Dib. I wish I’d gotten to you sooner. Maybe then this wouldn’t have happened.”

“I’ve come to accept that I’m this abomination now. It’s not your fault, Skoodge. There’s no way you could have known this was going to happen. Zim was sick, and he’s finally at peace now.”

Skoodge nodded and stared blankly at the floor, his eyes glazed over. The crew decided to sit in silence the rest of the way back to Meekrob. Yes, they knew they were successful, but it hardly felt like a victory given what they were witness to. They knew deep down in their guts that they were now forced to live with the horrors they saw aboard the Massive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a slightly smaller chapter. I had SO much fun writing it though.
> 
> We’re almost to the end now! ☹️😀


	10. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What does life after the horrors of the Massive look like?

Skoodge wiped his forehead, smearing the grease from his schook cruiser onto his forehead. He stood back, admiring the repairs and upgrades he made to the vessel. The cruiser was now faster and the navigation system could scan farther than before. He had also cleaned the outside to the point where it sparkled in the Meekrobian sun. Satisfied with the work, Skoodge made his way into his home where he saw Dodger sitting at the table. She looked up and smiled at her mate and got out of her seat.

“Excellent timing! A new job just came in from the Resisty.”

“Oh really? What is it?”

Skoodge wiped his hands clean with the cloth and peered over her arm to look at the tablet display.

“A civilization of insectoids are fending off an onslaught of cyborgs and require assistance.”

“What does that have to do with the Resisty?”

“They’re willing to join! The Resisty grows ever stronger these days.”

“Ah yes it does.” Skoodge took the tablet and read over the information. “Looks like a couple weeks fly even with the scary fast drive. You’re sure they can handle themselves until we can get to them?”

“They’ve been holding their own thus far, I think they’ll be okay.”

“Alright. Well then there’s no time to waste. Contact the crew and tell them we’re leaving asap.”

“Copy that, captain.”

-X-

With the crew boarding the newly refurbished BS-200 Space Ghost, Skooge took one last look at Meekrob and smiled. 

“Everything alright captain?”

“Yes, everything is perfect, Dib. Let’s go help these insectoids out.”

Dib gladly followed Skoodge into the cockpit and sat in the co-pilot seat. The two exchanged friendly glances before the Space Ghost sped off into the depths of space, determined to grow the Resisty and fight any threat that presented itself.

Skoodge looked out the window and as soon as they had initiated the scary fast drive, excused himself to check on the experiment. 

The irken made his way into the infirmary and looked around. He padded over to one of the smeet pods that looked ready to hatch. Skoodge removed it from its containment pod and soldered a small PAK onto its back. He waited for the PAK to activate, and when it did, Skoodge smiled. 

“Welcome to existence, irken child. State your name.”

The smeet looked around, confused before staring wide-eyed at Skoodge. He could immediately see fire in the little smeet’s eyes. 

“Zim. My name is Zim.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end, I’m so sad!! 
> 
> But I had an absolute blast writing this. This fic has been my baby since May, and I’m so sad to see it end. 
> 
> However, I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I really do appreciate the time you’ve given to reading this and I will forever be thankful ❤️❤️
> 
> And trust me, there will be more fics to come!


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